On Sept.19, 2023, during the annual U.N. General Assembly Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky spent most of his time criticizing Russia and asking other countries for support. But one of Zelensky’s critiques was directed at Poland — a country that has taken on almost a million Ukrainian refugees due to the war since its start in 2021.
Zelensky said that Poland was playing “political theater” in housing refugees while also being part of the coalition of three Eastern European countries banning Ukrainian grain. In the same speech, Zelensky called for “let[ting] unity decide everything openly,” which he seemingly did not do in his speech by spending time away from talking about Russia in his speech to call out a neighbor and so-called friendly state.
I believe that almost everything should be done to help the innocent people of Ukraine, who are just trying to make a living during an unjustified war. Zelensky has been a prime example of putting in the work for his people, doing everything he can to beg for just about anything that would aid his military and country as a whole. His actions in aid of his country are why I am a little shocked at his comment about Poland, because I don’t think it’s affecting his country in the way he intended it to.
In fact, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told Zelensky not to “insult Poles again,” which indicated the poor reception the comment got in Poland. While the Polish government’s democratic backsliding in recent years has been a huge disappointment and is affecting marginalized communities (such as the LGBTQ+ community, women and migrants) in Poland, Zelensky cannot be the one to address these issues. He still needs Poland to take on war refugees and supply him with weapons.
The fatigue of European countries’ sensitivity to Russia’s war in Ukraine is seriously waning. Nearly two years of this war have affected the economy in Europe severely, so even if there is some sort of political game being played, as Zelensky suggested (which I’m sure there is), there is no way that insulting Poland in front of the General Assembly would shift attitudes toward the Ukrainian cause at the moment.
The relationship between Poland and Ukraine had already been worsening amid the effects of the grain deal embargo. Basically, Poland wants to keep a ban on Ukrainian grain in the EU because, although it’s helping the war-torn country, it is affecting their own sales of domestic grain. However, after this comment, the Polish government stated that it would “no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine” in order to focus on its own defense.
To see Ukraine win the war against Russia, a country which unjustly attacked its sovereign-state neighbor, would be a major win for the liberal democratic order of the world. To do that, Ukraine needs all the help it can get, including from the less-than-liberal democratic government of Poland. A crack on the already battered surface of the Ukrainian war front because of a dispute with an ally could be the straw to break the camel’s back.
With this significant change in feelings from Poland, Zelensky can no longer publicly guilt-trip countries into helping. He has to keep his mouth shut, be thankful for what he’s given and appeal to his allies as much as he can — and not insult them. In the end, Zelensky himself was correct: unity will be the thing that will save us all, but in this fragile moment, insults won’t buy him that.
