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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Thousands of people gathered in Warsaw on Sunday to celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day. Meanwhile, Polish President Karol Nawrocki wrote to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, pledging that Poland will continue to “stand by your nation in this difficult time”.
A large crowd gathered on Warsaw’s Castle Square for the “Stand with Ukraine” demonstration, waving both yellow-and-blue Ukrainian national flags as well as white-and-red Polish ones. Some participants held up signs showing the names of people who have been killed by Russia during the war.
The crowd observed a minute’s silence for those who have fallen in the defence of Ukraine and also sung the Ukrainian national anthem. Many expressed gratitude to Poland for its support and solidarity since Russia’s full-scale invasion, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Warszawa, Plac Zamkowy. Minuta ciszy w pamięci o bohaterach broniących Ukrainy i Europy — przed uroczystościami z okazji Święta Niepodległości Ukrainy 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Слава Україні❗ pic.twitter.com/ocacrPe0ly
— Ukrainiec w Polsce (@UkrainiecPL) August 24, 2025
Poland has one of the largest Ukrainian communities in the world, including almost one million refugees as well as hundreds of thousands of economic migrants.
“Today, we Ukrainians are a great, steadfast nation,” said diplomat Larysa Sydorenko, speaking to the crowd on behalf of the Ukrainian embassy. “I thank all those who preserve the language and culture, and raise children in the Ukrainian spirit, even abroad.”
“We want every Ukrainian to know these wonderful people who didn’t abandon us in the face of war,” added Zhenya Klimakin, the initiator of the “Stand With Ukraine Awards”, which were handed out during the event. “Poland has given us hundreds of stories of solidarity.”
“Stay strong, Ukraine,” Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, wrote on X. “No more GULAG, no more Holodomor, no more Russification,” he added, referring to Soviet forced labour camps and the man-made famine that in the 1930s killed millions of Ukrainians when their country was part of the Soviet Union.
🇺🇦🇵🇱 Thank you @sikorskiradek for standing in solidarity with Ukraine in our fight for independence, freedom, and shared European security. We thank Poland and the Polish people for your unwavering support. Dziękujemy, Polsko! Dziękujemy, Przyjaciele! https://t.co/svUcCu1oW4
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) August 24, 2025
On Sunday evening, Zelensky shared on social media a letter he had received from Nawrocki, who was sworn in as Poland’s new president earlier this month, in which Nawrocki expressed “heartfelt congratulations and best wishes” to Ukraine on its Independence Day.
“We want to emphasise how important a free and sovereign Ukraine is to us – not only as a neighbour and ally, but also as the foundation of stability and peace in our part of Europe,” wrote the Polish president.
“Your fight is not only a fight for your own borders and the right to self-determination, but also a heroic contribution to the defence of values that are the foundation of European civilisation – freedom, democracy and respect for the dignity of every human being,” he continued.
“Poland, as a close neighbour and ally of Ukraine, stands by your nation in this difficult time,” said Nawrocki. “We support your steadfastness, perseverance and courage, which are a testament to your strength of spirit and deep patriotism.”
I am sincerely grateful to President of the Republic of Poland @NawrockiKn for his congratulations on Ukraine’s Independence Day. Poland is our reliable ally and strategic partner, which has shown the highest level of solidarity in the most difficult times for Ukraine in our… pic.twitter.com/pqTeWl1yj6
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 24, 2025
In response, Zelensky hailed Poland as a “reliable ally and strategic partner, which has shown the highest level of solidarity in the most difficult times for Ukraine in our fight against Russia’s full-scale aggression”.
During his election campaign, Nawrocki often talked tough on Ukraine, expressing his opposition to its proposed EU and NATO membership and calling for a new law to ensure that Poles receive preferential access to services ahead of immigrants, most of whom are Ukrainians.
However, Nawrocki has also repeatedly made clear that he supports Kyiv in its defence against Russian aggression.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
