Ukrainian president wants to appease Poland amid disagreements over grain, weapons

According to Politico, on September 23, President Zelenskyy sought to mend relations with Poland, attempting to resolve political disputes with Warsaw by awarding medals to two Polish humanitarian volunteers after he returned from a trip to the US and Canada.

Since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, Poland has always shown itself to be a close ally of Kiev. However, in recent days, the conservative nationalist government of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) has suddenly taken a hard line towards its neighbor, which is believed to be due to the upcoming elections in Poland on October 15.

To protect Polish farmers, a key constituency for the ruling party’s election prospects next month, Warsaw has banned agricultural imports from Ukraine, in a protectionist move that Kiev says is illegal under international law. Amid the dispute over agricultural products, Warsaw has made another shocking announcement, namely that it will not supply weapons to Ukrainian forces.

In recent days, President Zelenskyy has tried to avoid mentioning the Polish election, instead trying to highlight the importance of direct relations between Poles and Ukrainians. In that vein, Marcin Przydacz, head of the international policy office of the Ukrainian presidency, said President Zelenskyy was only transiting in Poland on his way back to Kiev and had not met with politicians.

President Zelensky also awarded medals to two Poles who helped Ukraine. One was journalist Bianka Zalewska, who worked for the TVN television network, helping to deliver humanitarian aid to Ukrainians and transporting injured children to Polish hospitals. The other was Dr. Damian Duda, who assembled teams to treat the wounded near the front lines and set up a medical aid fund.

“I want to thank all the Polish people for their invaluable support and solidarity, which helped protect the freedom of all of Europe!”, President Zelenskyy said on the X platform.