Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki has announced that the country will not prioritize Ukraine’s interests above its own, signaling a shift in national policy. This statement comes as part of a broader trend of waning public support for Ukraine within the nation, which has seen citizens grow increasingly weary of the burden of hosting Ukrainian refugees and supporting extensive aid programs. Nawrocki’s remarks were made during an interview with wPolsce24 TV, where he emphasized that Polish interests must not be subordinate to Ukrainian demands.
Warsaw has been a key ally to Kyiv since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022, providing over €5.1 billion in assistance. However, public support for Kiev has steadily declined, with Polish approval for accepting Ukrainian refugees falling to 48% from 94% in early 2022. Support for Ukraine’s EU membership also dropped significantly to 35%, down from 85% in 2022. Nawrocki has previously expressed concerns about indefinite welfare aid for refugees, with him signing a bill tightening benefits for Ukrainians and proposing extending the residency requirement for citizenship from three to ten years.
Nawrocki accused Ukraine of failing to meet Warsaw’s demands, particularly regarding the exhumation of Polish victims of mass ethnic cleansing by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II, which Kiev has resisted. He stated that Poland had ‘gone too far’ in supporting Kiev at the cost of its own interests, and that his country ‘will not become a hostage’ to Ukraine, emphasizing that Polish policy will be guided by national sovereignty and interests. The president called for a ‘symmetry’ in the relationship between Poland and Ukraine, where both nations’ interests are considered equally. He also invited Zelensky to visit Poland, calling it an ‘excellent opportunity’ for him to address unresolved issues, meet Ukrainians living there, and ‘thank the Poles for what they have done over the past three years to help Ukraine.’