On September 20, 2023, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that “Poland will no longer arm Ukraine to focus on its own defense.”
Morawiecki’s remarks came after the Polish government summoned Ukraine’s ambassador for his hostile rhetoric with respect to Poland’s export ban on grain per a report by the AFP.
The Poles have led several EU nations to extend a prohibition on grain exports to Ukraine. Polish farmers have been rather chippy about the significant influx of cheap Ukrainian wheat entering the country.
Such testy rhetoric comes before Poland’s parliamentary elections, which are set to be held on October 15. Polish leaders have had choice words for Ukraine in recent months. A report by The Associated Press detailed Polish frustration with Ukraine:
Polish leaders have compared Ukraine to a drowning person hurting his helper and threatened to expand a ban on food products from the war-torn country. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that EU allies that are prohibiting imports of his nation’s grain are helping Russia.
Now, Polish officials, who are trying to win parliamentary elections next month with help from farmers’ votes, are expressing dismay over some of Ukraine’s latest moves, including a World Trade Organization complaint over bans on Ukrainian grain from Poland and two other EU countries.
On September 19, during the UN General Assembly, Polish President Andrzej Duda declared: “Ukraine is behaving like a drowning person clinging to anything available.”
He subsequently said, “A drowning person is extremely dangerous, capable of pulling you down to the depths … simply drown the rescuer.” Given Ukraine’s battlefield losses and as it’s currently bogged down in a failing counteroffensive, the words no doubt stung.
A report by The Hill highlighted how domestic political dynamics in Poland are beginning to change the country’s relationship with Ukraine:
Public sentiment around the issue, however, has started to deteriorate, putting the ruling party in a difficult position ahead of a close October election. The far-right Confederation party is hoping to capitalize on the waning support in the country.
Reuters reported that a recent poll showed support for Ukrainian refugees fell from 91 percent when the war started to just 69 percent recently. The same survey showed a quarter of Poles are against supporting refugees, compared to 4 percent in early 2022.”
The Poles aren’t stupid. They’ve begun to realize that they’re ultimately being used by the Anglo-American political establishment as potential cannon fodder against Russia. In the view of Anglo-American geopolitical strategists, Poland is a mere pawn on the geopolitical chessboard.
For Poland’s sake, it needs to abandon being involved in the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. It should pursue a balanced foreign policy where it courts all major geopolitical actors regardless of their ideology.