Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an official trip to Warsaw Wednesday, April 5th. It is the president’s first visit since Russia invaded Ukraine’s borders last year.
On his arrival in Warsaw, the Ukrainian head of state was awarded the highest Polish state honour, the Order of the White Eagle. “Never in history has there been such warm relations between our two countries,” Volodymyr Zelensky told his counterpart Andrzej Duda with some emotion.
During his visit, Volodymyr Zelensky also met with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, with whom he signed a contract for the purchase of military equipment.
Poland is currently Ukraine’s third largest military partner, after the United States and the United Kingdom. A Ukrainian victory is of great interest to the Poles, who see their country as being directly threatened by Russian aggression. On Monday, April 3rd, the Polish government delivered eight Mi-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, while promising to send six more in the near future.
Poland has also played a crucial role in receiving Ukrainian refugees fleeing combat zones. Since the beginning of the conflict, about 8 million Ukrainians have passed through Poland, and 1 million still reside there—assistance largely borne by Polish households, to the tune of €2 billion for the first three months of the conflict, according to an estimate reported by Le Figaro. During his visit on Wednesday evening, Volodymyr Zelensky made a point of thanking all the anonymous supporters who have made it possible to provide emergency shelter for his compatriots in distress.
Despite Polish enthusiasm and dedication to providing support to the Ukrainian war effort, a certain weariness is emerging among the Polish population as the conflict settles in to last. Opinion polls show a serious decline in Polish motivation.
There is also growing discontent among Polish farmers, who have seen more than three million tonnes of Ukrainian grain land on the Polish market with the government’s approval, triggering a fall in prices. The same phenomenon is disrupting agricultural markets in Bulgaria and Romania. The problem has led to the resignation of the Polish Minister of Agriculture on Wednesday, April 5th. With four other countries, the Polish government is currently putting pressure on the European Commission to find a solution to regulate the entry of Ukrainian grain into the EU market.
During Zelensky’s visit to Warsaw, Ukrainian and Polish governments announced their intention to work on a future cooperation text, based on the model of the Élysée Treaty existing between France and Germany since 1963. The idea would be to give Poland a privileged place in the reconstruction process of Ukraine, but to also develop economic exchanges between the two countries while accelerating the integration of Ukraine into the European Union and NATO.
