“We support Ukraine, yet we set certain requirements,” said Marcin Przydacz, chief of newly sworn-in Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s International Policy Bureau, in an interview with Polish Radio on Thursday, August 7th.
Outlining the new president’s approach, Przydacz made it clear that Poland’s support for Ukraine—military as well as humanitarian—will not be unconditional under Nawrocki’s leadership. While acknowledging Ukraine’s courage in resisting Russian aggression, he stressed that Poland’s backing must be based on mutual respect and historical reconciliation.
According to Przydacz, President Nawrocki has already spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. While “many good elements” were discussed, he emphasized that “questions of a historical nature” that are important for Poles were also raised.
Chief among them is the unresolved issue of the Volhynia massacre, in which an estimated 100,000 Poles were murdered by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II.
“The Ukrainians must bear in mind that Poles have their own expectations too, including on the issue of exhumations,” Przydacz said, referring to mass graves in Ukraine that Warsaw has repeatedly sought permission to investigate.
Since Ukraine halted such exhumations in 2017, Poland has submitted 26 formal requests to dig at the site of Puzhniki in western Ukraine. Only one has been granted,
“We are not giving up on this, in fact we are trying to keep the subject on the agenda, we are trying to exert pressure by various means,” Przydacz stated. He added that it is “completely natural” in foreign policy to formulate conditions toward the other party.
President Nawrocki, who was sworn in on Wednesday following his election victory in June, has made these expectations central to his broader vision of Polish foreign policy.
The Polish president’s role is mostly ceremonial, however, the president is considered the highest-ranking representative of Poland in international relations.
Nawrocki’s stance aligns more closely with that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been a consistent opponent of Ukraine’s fast-tracked EU membership.
In a June interview with Hungarian publication Mandiner, Nawrocki nailed down: “I oppose Ukraine’s accession to the EU at this moment. However, I recognize that we need to support Ukraine from a strategic and geopolitical point of view.”
Ukraine may one day become part of the European Union, but “not necessarily,” as “first, the state, the economy must be reformed, and corruption must be tackled,” Przydacz said.
Regarding Ukraine’s possible NATO membership, he stated that “the appropriate conditions do not currently exist, not even in geopolitical terms, as the war is ongoing.”
“Ukraine also needs to respect other countries’ interests, especially since they supported it from the very beginning,” Nawrocki said.
He emphasized that for Poland, those interests include justice for the victims of wartime atrocities and fair treatment of Polish farmers and businesses, which he believes have been harmed by EU policies benefiting Ukraine.
In a March campaign speech, Nawrocki promised that, as president, he would not allow “Polish farmers, Polish agricultural holdings or Polish transport companies” to suffer due to “unfair competition from Ukraine.” He has accused Brussels of favoring Ukraine economically in ways that damage the Polish economy.
Public opinion appears to support Nawrocki’s more assertive stance. Recent polling shows that only 35% of Poles now back Ukraine’s EU accession, down sharply from 85% in 2022.
Support for Ukraine’s NATO membership has also declined, with 37% in favor and 42% opposed. A majority of Poles—62%—now say Ukraine should pursue peace talks with Russia, even without a ceasefire.
Nawrocki’s message is clear: support for Ukraine will continue—but only if Kyiv takes Polish concerns seriously.
On the European Union, Przydacz said Nawrocki will oppose treaty changes that deepen political centralization, arguing they strengthen the dominance of the bloc’s largest Western members.
