Warsaw — Polish President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed a bill that would have extended emergency assistance to Ukrainian refugees and safeguarded the financing of Starlink satellite internet for Ukraine, a decision that threatens to unravel key support measures just weeks before they are set to expire.
The veto blocks amendments to a 2022 law that granted special status, temporary protections, and benefits to Ukrainians who fled the war after Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. Under the current law, those provisions remain valid only until September 30. Unless parliament enacts new legislation, more than a million Ukrainians in Poland could lose child allowances, health coverage, and access to basic welfare.
Nawrocki justified his decision on grounds of “social justice,” insisting that aid should only go to Ukrainians who are officially employed in Poland. He argued that the proposed bill placed an unfair burden on Polish taxpayers while failing to distinguish between those contributing to the national economy and those who are not.
The president has also linked the veto to broader nationalist concerns. He has pushed for restrictions on welfare access for foreigners and proposed criminal penalties for publicly glorifying figures like Stepan Bandera, a controversial Ukrainian nationalist leader whom many Poles view as responsible for atrocities during World War II. His stance aligns with a growing segment of Polish voters weary of what they see as excessive support for Ukrainian refugees.
One of the most immediate consequences of the veto is the uncertainty surrounding Poland’s financing of Starlink services for Ukraine. The satellite system, provided by SpaceX, has been a lifeline for both Ukrainian civilians and the military. Without legal authority to extend payments beyond October 1, service disruptions are likely, raising fears of communications breakdowns on the battlefield and in civilian areas already strained by war.
The move signals a cooling in Poland’s once unwavering support for Kyiv, as domestic politics and refugee fatigue reshape the country’s priorities. With nearly 1.5 million Ukrainians still residing in Poland, the dispute underscores the growing political tension between solidarity with Ukraine and the demands of a nationalist agenda at home.
Days after blocking aid to Ukrainian refugees, President Karol Nawrocki delivered another sharp rebuke to his own government’s agenda, issuing his first veto since taking office by rejecting a cabinet bill that would have coupled a freeze on energy prices with relaxed rules for constructing onshore wind farms, according to Bloomberg. Dubbing the measure a form of “blackmail,” Nawrocki insisted that the energy-price freeze, a key tenet of his populist campaign, could not be tied to what he sees as unwanted green-energy concessions—a move underscoring growing friction between his nationalist vision and the centrist Tusk government’s renewable priorities.
According to Mehr News, President Nawrocki has submitted his own draft bill, which will be debated in parliament in the coming weeks. But until a new framework is approved, the risk of interrupted aid and communications remains a looming crisis for Ukrainians both in Poland and on the front lines.
According to Reuters, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a government bill that sought to ease restrictions on building onshore wind farms by reducing the minimum distance from residential areas, while also extending a freeze on household energy prices until year-end. Nawrocki denounced the legislation as “blackmail,” refusing to accept a package that tied his flagship promise of lower energy costs to concessions on renewable energy development, a stance that drew sharp criticism from Energy Minister Milosz Motyka, who warned the veto would harm families, industry, and Poland’s energy security.
