Ukraine war: Poland only wants to fulfill agreed arms deliveries

The dispute between Kiev and Warsaw over the Polish import ban on Ukrainian grain is now also having an impact on military cooperation between the two countries. Poland wants to limit its arms deliveries to Ukraine to contracts that have already been concluded.

“In connection with questions about arms deliveries, I would like to inform you that Poland only carries out previously agreed deliveries of ammunition and military equipment. Including those resulting from signed contracts with Ukraine,” government spokesman Piotr Müller said on Thursday.

This also includes the largest foreign contract that the Polish arms industry has concluded since 1989 – the delivery of the Krab cannon howitzer, it said. Müller criticized that there had recently been a series of “absolutely unacceptable statements and diplomatic gestures” from the Ukrainian side.

Morawiecki with an unclear statement

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had previously caused speculation with a statement about arms deliveries to Kiev. In an interview on the television channel Polsat News on Wednesday evening, he replied to the moderator’s question as to whether Poland would continue to support Ukraine with arms deliveries and humanitarian aid despite the grain dispute: “We are no longer delivering armaments to Ukraine, but are arming ourselves even with the most modern weapons.”

Morawiecki went on to say that Poland has enormously expanded its orders for military equipment. Morawiecki said its own armed forces should be modernized so that Poland will have one of the strongest land armies in Europe.

While his first statement on armaments appeared to be clearly formulated, the context of the interview suggested that Morawiecki probably did not mean a complete stop to Polish arms deliveries to Kiev – rather, he seemed to emphasize that Poland was not only supplying arms to the neighboring country, but at the same time I am also upgrading my own army.

Nevertheless, his statement was interpreted in several Polish and international news portals to mean that Poland no longer wanted to supply weapons to Kiev. The EU and NATO country Poland is one of Ukraine’s most important political and military supporters.

Like Slovakia and Hungary, Poland had stuck to import restrictions on Ukrainian grain after the EU Commission lifted corresponding restrictions on Friday. This angered Kyiv.

Tone rougher between Warsaw and Kyiv

Recently the tone between the two countries had become increasingly harsh. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in the UN general debate on Tuesday of friends in Europe who are “performing a political theater of solidarity and making a thriller out of grain.” These countries would only appear to appear in their own roles, but would set the stage for the actor from Moscow. The Foreign Ministry in Warsaw then summoned the Ukrainian ambassador.

Poland’s head of state Andrzej Duda, in turn, said that Ukraine was like a drowning man who could grab his rescuer and drag him into the depths. Prime Minister Morawiecki threatened to impose import bans on even more Ukrainian agricultural products.

Now Poland is playing the military aid card. According to reports from the Polish portal Onet.pl, the NATO member country currently no longer has any weapons systems that it could hand over to Ukraine without endangering its own defense capability. Government spokesman Müller emphasized that Poland provided the neighboring country with tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft and ammunition immediately after the start of the Russian war of aggression. “When other countries were still discussing support, Poland consistently helped to repel the Russian attack,” said Müller.

Agriculture ministers hold talks

Meanwhile, the agriculture ministers of both countries were trying to find a way out of the grain dispute. Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyj spoke on the phone today with his Polish colleague Robert Telus, the government in Kiev announced. They agreed to find a solution “that takes into account the interests of both countries.” The basis is a proposal from Ukraine, which was not elaborated on.

According to the PAP agency, Telus said it was pleased that Ukraine was now talking directly to Poland. He demanded that Kiev should withdraw a complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO). “We are always ready for talks, but the interests of the Polish farmer are the most important thing for us,” Telus said. The transit of Ukrainian grain through Poland to third countries is not affected by the dispute.