Poland has offered to provide Ukraine with “defensive” ammunition amid growing concerns over what the Polish prime minister calls “Russian neo-imperialism”. He is due to visit Kyiv tomorrow in a show of support for Poland’s eastern neighbour.
Russian neo-imperialism is staging a comeback before our eyes threatening EU destabilization. Russia's military build-up and its unrealistic demands regarding NATO's future enjoin a clear and resolute reaction: an unwavering support for UA. I will make a visit to Kiev.
— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) January 30, 2022
Paweł Soloch, the head of President Andrzej Duda’s National Security Bureau (BBN), announced today it “had been decided to hand over defensive ammunition to the Ukrainian side, which is to be used for defence, not for attack”, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The decision had been made “in close contact with the president”, said Soloch, and would “be finalised by the defence minister”, Mariusz Błaszczak.
Soloch added that the Polish side is “ready at any moment to deliver tens of thousands of items of defensive ammunition”, but that the question of when and how it is handed over “now depends on the Ukrainian side”.
Last week, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland noted that Polish officials, including Duda, had promised military supplies and noted that consultations were ongoing as to what was most needed and when it would be delivered.
Meanwhile, yesterday Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, issued a statement on Twitter warning that “Russian neo-imperialism is staging a comeback before our eyes threatening EU destabilization”.
He added that Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders, estimated at more than 100,000 soldiers, as well as its “unrealistic” demands regarding NATO’s future, “enjoin a clear and resolute reaction: an unwavering support for Ukraine”.
Tomorrow, Morawiecki will visit Kyiv to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal as well as the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who last week met with Duda in Poland to discuss the security situation.
The heads of Poland’s Roman Catholic church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church have jointly appealed for leaders to "refrain from hostilities" as "war is always a defeat for mankind".
They also accuse Russia of "disregarding international law" https://t.co/oQqioFAVrH
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 24, 2022
The upcoming meetings will aim to underscore the “cooperation between governments” and express “support for Ukraine in the current geopolitical situation,” said deputy foreign minister Paweł Jabłoński in an interview with wPolityce.pl.
But he added said “difficult topics” would also be touched upon, without specifying what they are. Poland and Ukraine have recently been locked in a trade dispute, with Kyiv threatening to sue the EU over the issue and Warsaw accusing its eastern neighbour of blocking train shipments.
On Friday, President Andrzej Duda held a meeting of the National Security Council – which included both government figures and opposition leaders – to discuss the situation around Ukraine.
The previous day, Poland’s parliament nearly unanimously passed a resolution condemning Russia and declaring support for Kyiv, as well as calling on the EU and NATO to take firmer action.
Poland’s ruling party has also, however, faced criticism for attending a summit in Madrid over the weekend that included a number of right-wing leaders – including Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orban – who have been accused of having ties to the Kremlin.
Main image credit: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/Flickr (under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
