Mounting friction between Kyiv and Warsaw—over grain exports and arms transfers—is a sign that Ukraine is “losing allies,” according to a prominent Russian lawmaker.
“European bureaucrats ... are gradually realizing how much it costs their countries—and themselves—to support [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy,” Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, said on Sept. 20.
Mr. Slutsky’s assertion coincided with an announcement by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that Warsaw would stop providing weapons for Ukraine’s war effort.
“We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons,” Mr. Morawiecki said in remarks to the Polish press.
Poland later clarified that it would continue supplying Ukraine with arms and munitions—but only those already agreed upon.
Since Russia launched its invasion of eastern Ukraine early last year, Warsaw has been among Kyiv’s staunchest supporters.
Poland was among the first countries to provide Ukraine with fighter aircraft and currently hosts more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees.
But in recent months, friction has mounted between Warsaw and Kyiv amid a long-simmering dispute over grain exports.
Poland President Andrzej Duda speaks at an event in Gdynia, Poland, on July 22, 2022. Mateusz Sloddowski/AFP via Getty Images
On Sept. 15, tensions erupted when Poland, along with Hungary and Slovakia, imposed unilateral bans on imported Ukrainian grain.
The three countries took the step after the European Commission declined to extend a preexisting ban on Ukrainian grain in five EU states, which also included Romania and Bulgaria.
The bans are meant to protect local farmers from an influx of Ukrainian grain following the collapse of a seminal grain agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
Brokered last year by the United Nations and Turkey, the deal had allowed Ukraine to continue exporting grain—despite hostilities—through the Black Sea.
But in mid-July, Russia unilaterally suspended the agreement, saying key parts of the deal hadn’t been fulfilled.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the 78th U.N. General Assembly at the organization's headquarters in New York on Sept. 19, 2023. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Kyiv has filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization in hopes of seeing the import bans overturned. It has also threatened to impose its own curbs on Polish and Hungarian imported goods if the two countries refuse to reverse their import bans.
Mr. Morawiecki, for his part, has warned Kyiv that if it chooses to escalate the dispute, Warsaw would “add more products to its ban on [Ukrainian] imports.”
Harsh Words at UN
Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 19, Mr. Zelenskyy slammed the import bans in remarks that appeared to be aimed at Poland.“It’s alarming to see how some in Europe play out solidarity [with Ukraine] in a political theater,” he said.
“They may seem to play their own role, but in fact, they are helping set the stage for a Moscow actor.”
Mr. Zelenskyy was suggesting that the import bans served to strengthen Russia’s position.
In a sign of rapidly worsening ties, a planned meeting between Mr. Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda, who also attended the General Assembly meeting, failed to materialize.
President Duda further infuriated Kyiv when, speaking on the assembly’s sidelines, he described Ukraine as a “drowning man.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova at Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's annual roundup press conference in 2019. The Canadian Press/AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko
“A drowning man has enormous strength due to fear and adrenaline and can end up drowning the rescuer,” he told reporters.
“It’s a bit like the situation between Poland and Ukraine. Ukraine, under Russian attack, is in a difficult position and is grasping at everything.
“We must look after our own interests and will do so effectively and decisively.”
President Duda faces national elections next month.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry later summoned Ukraine’s ambassador in Warsaw to voice its displeasure with Mr. Zelenskyy’s comments at the General Assembly.
According to the ministry, the envoy was told that “putting pressure on Poland in multilateral forums, or sending complaints to international tribunals, are not appropriate methods for resolving disputes between our countries.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has voiced its objection to President Duda’s “drowning man” comments, describing them as “inappropriate.”
Moscow Blames Collective West
Russian observers are watching the escalating row between Ukraine and Poland—a NATO member—closely.“As the collapse of the [West’s] anti-Russia project becomes increasingly evident, Kyiv is starting to lose allies,” Mr. Slutsky, who leads Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party, said on Telegram.
“President Duda refused to meet Zelenskyy at the U.N. General Assembly and compared Ukraine to a ‘drowning man’ who will pull others into the maelstrom.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova agreed with President Duda’s remarks but said “one small detail” was missing.
“It was Warsaw—and others who supported regime change in the country—that helped throw Ukraine into the water,” she said, likely alluding to Ukraine’s 2014 “Maidan Revolution,” which was backed by the United States and its European allies.
That event led to the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was known to have good relations with Russia. He was soon replaced by Petro Poroshenko, who set the country on a decidedly more pro-Western course.
Moscow views the abrupt transition of power as a Western-backed “coup” and the primary cause of the current conflict in Ukraine.
“With ‘rescuers’ like these,” Ms. Zakharova said, “the ‘drowning man’ doesn’t have a chance.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
