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There are a number of reasons why Poland stopped sending weapons to Ukraine. Photo/Illustration
JAKARTA – In recent weeks relations between Ukraine and Poland have deteriorated. The cause is the flow of Ukrainian grain to the European market as a result of the closure of the main shipping lane on the Black Sea due to the conflict with Russia, causing prices to drop and wreaking havoc on local producers.
The grain glut prompted official import bans among five European Union (EU) members to protect domestic farmers, namely Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Although the bloc-wide ban expired last week, Warsaw, Budapest and Bratislava chose to maintain the policy individually. Each believes this policy is necessary to stabilize prices.
Kiev insisted the ban was illegal, and Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko stated, “It is very important for us to prove that individual member states cannot ban imports of Ukrainian goods.”
The Ukrainian government has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO), seeking to stop the trade restrictions. However, Warsaw rejected the move, saying, “Complaints to the WTO do not impress us.”
The peak of this dispute was Poland’s announcement that it would stop sending weapons to Ukraine by Polish Prime Minister (PM) Mateusz Morawiecki.
Reasons why Poland is no longer sending weapons to Ukraine
A day after Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Warsaw would no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine, and that they would focus on rebuilding their own weapons stockpile, social media platforms were abuzz with questions about whether relations between the two countries had become strained.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Warsaw has been one of Kiev’s staunchest allies. To date, Poland has sent approximately USD 4.54 billion worth of military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. That number is according to the Kiel Institute’s Ukraine Support Tracker, which tallies aid promised by the government to Kyiv.
Since Moscow’s invasion began, Warsaw has also played an important role in lobbying other EU and NATO members to send more weapons to Ukraine.
Here are 3 reasons why Poland stopped arms aid to Ukraine as reported by DW, Saturday (23/9/2023)
1. Ukraine Wheat Import Ban
Photo: Illustration
In recent weeks, relations between the two allies have soured somewhat after Warsaw imposed a ban on Ukrainian wheat imports in an effort to protect Polish farmers from an influx of cheap grain and food imports. Neighboring countries Hungary and Slovakia joined Poland in extending nationwide bans on imports of Ukrainian wheat and produce.
