The fear of Russia still binds them together

Tensions between Ukraine and Poland are increasing. This is evident in politics, but there is also a change of mood among the population. What still connects these two countries is the fear of Russia.

When the former president of Poland, Aleksandar Kvashnevsky, celebrated his 70th birthday on November 15, Leonid Kuchma, the former president of Ukraine, who, like Kvashnevsky, was in power until 2005, sent his congratulations via video.

On that occasion, Kuchma called for understanding for Ukraine: “Even the closest friends have their own realities. We may say the same things, but with different intonation and different words. In Ukraine, even time passes differently. We pay a different price. While in the West they lose time to help Ukraine, we are losing lives.” Today, Kuchma adds, the unity of Poland and Ukraine is threatened by the “ambitions of individual actors on both sides of the border”. This must not be allowed.

Mutual accusations

Frustration is growing in both Kyiv and Warsaw. Poland’s ban on the import of Ukrainian grain, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request that Poland help more and intercept Russian missiles even over Ukrainian territory, are causing tensions.

Warsaw is just looking for an excuse not to deliver additional fighter jets, Zelensky said in October. There was a clear answer to that from Poland. “With such statements, Zelenski wants to drag Poland into a war against Russia,” said Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gavkovski. “It is our duty to fight for Ukraine to survive and win the war, but certainly not to drag Poland into a war against Russia.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radoslav Sikorski, added that Zelenskiy must understand that Poland must also deter Russia. But it would also be better if he directs his demands further west, towards countries that are not on the front line.

The desire to confront history

It seems that the times when Zelenskiy spoke in Warsaw about Polish and Ukrainian hearts beating together, that there will be no political, economic, and especially no historical borders between Poland and Ukraine, seem to have passed.

Precisely in relation to the last question, Warsaw expects more understanding – especially when it comes to the historic confrontation with the massacres in Volhynia, where Ukrainian nationalists – who are still respected in Ukraine today – killed tens of thousands of Polish civilians.

However, Kiev opposes the exhumation of the victims, which is met with misunderstanding by the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sikorski: “Ukraine agreed to the burial of 100,000 Wehrmacht soldiers. Our dead and wounded should not be treated worse.”

Change of mood in society

The change in mood is also felt among the population. Only slightly more than half of Poles want to continue accepting refugees from Ukraine. Almost two-thirds want to help only those who come directly from Russian-occupied territories.

What still binds both countries is the fear of Russia. Thus, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, said: “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. EU member states must ensure that decisions on – God forbid – ending or freezing the conflict are made in full agreement with the countries of the eastern wing, especially with Ukraine.”

Independent moves, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, do not help here – Kiev and Warsaw agree on that. But the tensions are obvious, and this is probably what Vladimir Putin is looking forward to most of all.

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