Poland could cut arms aid to Ukraine as WWII spat continues
As Poland observes a day of remembrance for the victims of a Ukrainian nationalist military unit, there are increasing signs that it could cut off
As Poland observes a day of remembrance for the victims of a Ukrainian nationalist military unit, there are increasing signs that it could cut off its neighbor from military aid, even as the war against Russia continues. Relations between Poland and Ukraine have been mired in crisis since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a military unit the honorary title "Heroes of the UPA." The initials stand for the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which was instrumental to the killing of up to 100,000 Polish civilians during World War II. Poland is marking a national day of remembrance for the victims on Saturday. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Poland has provided Ukraine with extensive military support, including weapons and equipment. Until recently, military cooperation between the neighboring countries, which both view Russia as an existential threat, had been accepted by all political parties and was largely kept separate from Poland's domestic political disputes. Lingering 'historical issues' Poland's far-right opposition is attacking the center-right government over the delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine. The opposition accuses pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk of putting Poland's own military defense at risk. Polish President Nawrocki says glorifying the UPA is "nonnegotiable" Image: Yauhen Yerchak/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/picture alliance Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Zelenskyy sought a way out of the crisis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday — without success. "There has been a lot of tension in Polish-Ukrainian relations recently," Nawrocki told journalists after the hourlong meeting. "We have not managed to resolve historical issues," he said. Glorification of the UPA is "nonnegotiable," Nawrocki said, making no secret of his skepticism about Ukraine's ambitions to join the European Union.
The dispute over Poland's Patriot missiles was triggered by Krzysztof Bosak, leader of the ultranationalist Movement. "In March, hidden from the Sejm, the government handed over expensive and hard-to-obtain interceptor missiles for Patriot systems," Bosak, the deputy speaker of parliament, wrote on X on July 4. He said the weapons that the government had given to Ukraine were necessary to Poland's own national defense against Russia. The Movement has long demanded an end to military aid for Ukraine. 'Increasingly confrontational stance' Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Marcin Przydacz, who is now responsible for foreign policy in the president's office, called Bosak's assumption "highly likely." Przydacz accused the government of giving up Poland's place in the queue for ordering US weapons in favor of Ukraine. "Poles will now have to wait longer," Przydacz said. Przemyslaw Czarnek, who is likely to be the top candidate for the national conservative Law and Justice party in the 2027 parliamentary elections, said Poland had been "deprived of strategic weapons without the knowledge of parliament and the president." "Ukraine has not treated Poland like a partner for two years now and is taking an increasingly confrontational stance," Czarnek said. Tusk's government published data revealing the extent of Polish military aid Image: Igor Jakubowski/Arena Akcji/Sipa USA/picture alliance In a bid to defuse criticism from the opposition, the Tusk government took a risky step. Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz published previously secret data on the scale of Poland's military aid since the outbreak of the war. According to the data, Poland has spent 16.45 billion zloty (€3.8 billion/$4.35 billion) since Russia's invasion, with the largest share of that sum — 14.9 billion zloty — paid during the PiS government in 2022-2023.
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