Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said Warsaw will no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine, as relations between Kyiv and one of its closest foreign partners rapidly deteriorate amid a spat over Ukrainian grain exports.
“We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine, because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons,” Morawiecki said in a television appearance on Wednesday.
“If you don’t want to be on the defensive, you have to have something to defend yourself with,” the prime minister added, stressing that the shift in approach would not undermine Ukrainian security nor signal an end to broader Polish support for Kyiv’s victory.
Morawiecki’s remarks are the latest sign of deteriorating ties between Ukraine and Poland. The dispute centers on the westward export of Ukrainian grain, which Poland and other European Union states have said is undercutting their agricultural sectors and forcing down domestic grain prices.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki arrives for the plenary session of a summit of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States at the European Council Building in Brussels on July 18, 2023. Morawiecki said this week that Warsaw will no longer send weapons to Ukraine.
EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images
In May, the EU restricted the sales of imported Ukrainian grain in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Last week, the bloc lifted the measures, a decision immediately rejected by Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Westward land exports of grain have become vital for Ukraine due to the intermittent Russian blockade of its Black Sea ports. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the opposition from central European partners as “political theater” that was “helping set the stage for a Moscow actor.” The Polish government reacted angrily, summoning Ukraine’s ambassador.
Also on Tuesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda raised eyebrows when he compared Ukraine to “a drowning person clinging to anything available.” The president added: “A drowning person is extremely dangerous, capable of pulling you down to the depths.”
Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, called for calm on Wednesday. “We urge our Polish friends to reject emotions,” he wrote on Facebook. “The Ukrainian side offered Poland a constructive way of solving the grain problem. We expect our suggestions to become the basis for the translation of dialogue into constructive process.”
Both Duda and Morawiecki made clear their intention to continue supporting Ukraine until it defeated Russia’s invasion. Warsaw has been at the forefront of the push to send advanced NATO weapons—including artillery, tanks, and fighter aircraft—to Ukraine. Warsaw’s decision to send MiG-29 fighter jets was particularly notable, and marked a break with most NATO allies who even now remain hesitant to provide combat aircraft.
Daniel Szeligowski of the Polish Institute of International Affairs suggested Warsaw’s decision to end weapon deliveries was a practical one. “Poland has already sent Ukraine what it had in stocks,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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