Poland-Ukraine Relations Remain Strained as Moscow Accuses Kyiv of Losing Allies
The Election-facing Polish president has compared Ukraine to a “drowning man” who could pull rescuers into danger, according to a prominent Russian lawmaker. The friction between Kyiv and Warsaw, particularly over grain exports and arms transfers, is seen as a sign that Ukraine is losing allies. Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma’s international affairs committee, stated that European bureaucrats are realizing the cost of supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Warsaw would cease providing weapons for Ukraine’s war effort, stating that Poland is arming itself with more modern weapons. However, Warsaw later clarified that it would continue to supply Ukraine with arms and munitions but only those that were already agreed upon. The tensions between the two countries have been mounting due to a dispute over grain exports. Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia recently imposed bans on imported Ukrainian grain, while Ukraine has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization in hopes of overturning the bans. The situation has worsened to the point that a planned meeting between Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda did not happen. Duda’s comments describing Ukraine as a “drowning man” further strained the relationship between the two countries. Russian observers see this escalating row as a sign that Ukraine is losing allies. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova agreed with Duda’s remarks, stating that Poland and others who supported the regime change in Ukraine are to blame for throwing Ukraine into the water. Russia views the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 as a Western-backed coup and the primary cause of the conflict in Ukraine.
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