Ukraine-Poland. Time for mutual support, not mistakes

"We will clearly take a pro-Ukrainian position," the adviser said. 

Such statements caused a storm of rejection in the Polish media and society. 

We are well aware of how important military support from Poland is to us now, how important it is to support our Euro-Atlantic aspirations. We are grateful to the Poles for their invaluable assistance to Ukrainian refugees. 

Of course, we are outraged by some political manipulations regarding Ukrainian grain and a one-sided view of the difficult past for our peoples. But building better relations with Poland in the future is our national priority. That is why Mykhailo Podoliak's words were perceived extremely negatively in Poland.

Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a prominent politician from the ruling Law and Justice party, wrote straightforwardly: "Thank you for your sincerity." And he wrote the word "thank you" in Ukrainian. 

The well-known journalist Jacek Łęski notes: 

"Comparing 'friendship' with 'competition' and linking it to the war sounds terrible. Now we are friends because we are poor, and when the war is over, we will show what we can do and, for example, push you out of some market with cheaper products. And this is what the guy representing the president of Ukraine is saying. Ukraine, which is stuck in a war with Russia, has a dramatic military, demographic, socioeconomic situation. In short, it is barely alive, and the consequences of the war are terrible and will degrade Ukraine for decades. It will need Poland's cooperation and support for many years to come. And he says these things. This is terrible stupidity. Ukrainians I know are appalled."

Mykhailo Podolyak's statement was negatively commented on by both pro-government and opposition media. 

It is also strange that Ukraine communicates with the world on Freedom channel in Russian. When Ukrainian politicians spread Russian narratives in Russian, it is obviously perceived by our allies as either foolishness or provocation.

Source

About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Member of Parliament of Ukraine.

The editorial staff do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.