In the conflict over the Polish import ban on Ukrainian grain, Poland’s head of government caused speculation with a statement about arms deliveries to Kiev. In an interview on the television channel Polsat News on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki responded 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 supplying armaments to Ukraine equip ourselves with the most modern weapons.”
Morawiecki continued, Poles have vastly expanded their military equipment orders. “If you don’t want to defend yourself, you have to have something to defend yourself with – we adhere to this rule.” The armed forces should be modernized so that Poland will have one of the strongest land armies in Europe, Morawiecki said.
While his first statement on arms seemed clearly formulated, the context of the interview suggested that Morawiecki was unlikely to have meant a complete stop to Polish arms supplies to Kiev – rather, he seemed to be pointing out that Poland was not only supplying arms to the neighboring country, but at the same time I am also upgrading my own army. However, several Polish news portals, including the English-language service of the state news agency PAP, interpreted Morawiecki’s statement to mean that Poland would stop supplying weapons to Ukraine in light of the grain conflict. The Polish government initially left a request from the German Press Agency for clarification unanswered.
At another point in the interview, Morawiecki emphasized that the government in Warsaw would in no way endanger Ukraine’s security. “Our hub in Rzeszow will continue to play the same role as before and in the future in agreement with the Americans and NATO,” he assured. A large part of Western military aid for Ukraine in its defense against the aggressor Russia goes through the city of Rzeszow in southeastern Poland.
The EU and NATO country Poland is not only one of Ukraine’s most important political and military supporters. Since the Russian war of aggression began in February 2022, it has also taken in a large number of war refugees from the neighboring country.
Editor’s note: An earlier version, citing the AFP news agency, said that Poland had stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine. However, there are different statements regarding the quotes from Poland’s head of government and no clarification from Warsaw yet. We have therefore adapted the article
