Polish prime minister has said the country will stop sending weapons to Ukraine amid an ongoing row over grain exports.
“We are no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine because we will now arm ourselves with the most modern weapons,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. “We are mainly focusing on modernising and rapidly arming the Polish army, so that it becomes one of the most powerful land armies in Europe,” he added.
Warsaw has clarified that it will complete its previously committed weapons shipments to Kyiv. Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Poland would not be sending any “new weapons” to Ukraine, however, previously agreed deliveries of ammunition and armaments will be sent to Ukraine.
Poland has been one of its strongest allies, providing tanks, and fighter jets to neighboring Ukraine and also welcoming roughly a million refugees amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
What is the dispute about?
Current tensions between the two allies trace back to the beginning of the war, marked by Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea. Although a deal with Moscow allowed overland transport, it led to an oversupply of Ukrainian grain in neighboring European countries, lowering prices and hurting local farmers
As a response, the European Union temporarily banned Ukrainian grain imports in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. While the EU did not renew the ban after it expired on September 15 this year, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary continued it independently. The EU warned against such unilateral trade decisions, leading Ukraine to file WTO lawsuits against the ban-upholding countries.
Meanwhile, at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week in New York, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused “some in Europe” of using solidarity for political theater, “making a thriller from the grain.” In response, Poland summoned the Ukrainian ambassador and hinted at extending the ban to more products.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki responded on social media the next day, saying: “We no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland.”
Poland’s prime minister tells Ukrainian leader to ‘Never insult Poles again’
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki responded firmly to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s recent remarks at the UN.
“I want to tell President Zelenskyy never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN,” he said.
“The Polish people will never allow this to happen, and defending the good name of Poland is not only my duty and honor, but also the most important task of the Polish government,” Morawiecki added at a rally in Swidnik, Poland.
This confrontational behavior from Poland’s government toward Kyiv comes ahead of a tight general election in the country.
Analysts say that upcoming elections in Poland on October 15 are contributing to its defiant stance. While Morawiecki’s Law and Justice (PiS) party is still favored to win according to recent polls, its lead over far-right opponents has narrowed. The Polish far-right has historically criticized the provision of weapons to Ukraine, a commitment that has already depleted roughly a third of Poland’s military resources.
EU reaction
European countries have expressed concerns over the development as deepening divisions between the two allies risk the united front against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European Commission clarified that nothing has changed in the EU’s relationship with Ukraine, despite the escalating grain row.
“The bottom line is that the EU position and EU policy remains unchanged and the policy and the position of the EU is unwavering, firm, unchanged support for Ukraine for as long as it takes in all the areas where we can support Ukraine, including the military assistance,” a Commission spokesperson told media.
