Poland will stop providing weapons to Ukraine Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Wednesday, due to a growing dispute over grain.
“We no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland,” Morawiecki said on social media.
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While Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia invaded in February 2022, due in part to concerns about further aggression from Moscow should it successfully topple Kyiv, they are currently in dispute over Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia's intention to defy a European Union decision to suspend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports which had been in place to protect the livelihood of local farmers.
The ban had been put in place earlier this year by several EU nations to protect local farmers who were worried about being undercut by low prices of Ukrainian grain. Ukraine has filed lawsuits against each of the three countries at the World Trade Organization over their intent to defy the ending of the restrictions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referenced the subject during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, saying, “It is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater — making a thriller from the grain.”
The remarks prompted immediate condemnation from Polish leaders, who went as far as to summon the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw to share their “strong protest.”
Polish Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Ukraine’s ambassador that Zelensky’s statement was “untrue,” given Poland had been “supporting Ukraine since the first days of the war.” He also said, “Putting pressure on Poland in multilateral forums or sending complaints to international tribunals are not appropriate methods of resolving disputes between our countries,” according to a statement from the ministry.
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The Polish-Ukrainian standoff has escalated ahead of Poland's upcoming elections on Oct. 15.
Poland has provided Ukraine with Soviet-era tanks, fighter jets, and other weapons, making it the sixth biggest military donor to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, and it has taken in more than 1.5 million refugees. Now, Poland, Morawieki told Polsat News, "will protect our country." “We are no longer transferring any weapons, because we will now arm ourselves with the most modern weapons.”