Poland No Longer Supplying Weapons To Ukraine Amid Grain Row

Zaheer Hussain
September 22, 2023
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One Of Ukraine’s Staunchest Allies, Poland, Has Said It Is No Longer Supplying Weapons To Its Neighbour, Amid A Diplomatic Dispute Over Kyiv’s Grain Exports. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki Said Poland’s Focus Was Instead On Defending Itself With More Modern Weapons.

Poland No Longer Supplying Weapons To Ukraine Amid Grain Row

Why In The News?

One Of Ukraine’s Staunchest Allies, Poland, Has Said It Is No Longer Supplying Weapons To Its Neighbour, Amid A Diplomatic Dispute Over Kyiv’s Grain Exports. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki Said Poland’s Focus Was Instead On Defending Itself With More Modern Weapons.
But The Country’s President Later Said The Comments Had Been Misinterpreted In The “Worst Possible Way”. Andrzej Duda Said It Was Only New Polish Weapons That Would Not Be Sent. Poland Has Already Sent Ukraine 320 Soviet-era Tanks And 14 Mig-29 Fighter Jets And Has Little More To Offer.

What Do We Know?

On Tuesday, Poland Summoned Ukraine’s Ambassador Over Comments Made By President Volodymyr Zelensky At The United Nations After Poland, Hungary And Slovakia Extended A Ban On Ukrainian Grain.
Mr Zelensky Said It Was Alarming How Some Of Ukraine’s Friends In Europe Were Playing Out Solidarity “In A Political Theatre – Making A Thriller From Grain”.
Warsaw Denounced His Words As “Unjustified Concerning Poland, Which Has Supported Ukraine Since The First Days Of The War”. The Two Countries Have Since Sought To Cool The Row Down.
Poland’s Military Hardware Has Been Depleted By About A Third Through Transfers To Ukraine And Warsaw Is In The Process Of Replacing It With Modern Western-produced Kit.

Arms Exports To Ukraine Will Not Stop Completely As Polish Manufacturer PGZ Is Due To Send About 60 Krab Artillery Weapons In The Coming Months. Only Previously Agreed Deliveries Of Ammunition And Armaments Would Be Delivered, Including Those From Contracts Signed With Ukraine.
Poland’s Ruling Law And Justice Party Has Stepped Up Its Rhetoric In Recent Weeks In The Heat Of An Acrimonious Election Campaign, Ahead Of A 15 October Vote, And It Has Sprung To The Defence Of Polish Farmers Who Feel Threatened By Imports Of Ukrainian Grain.

What Is The Issue With Grains Import?

Russia’s Full-scale Invasion Forced Ukraine To Find Alternative, Overland Routes When The Main Black Sea Shipping Lanes Were All But Closed. That In Turn Led To Large Quantities Of Grain Ending Up In Central Europe.
Consequently, The European Union Temporarily Banned Imports Of Grain Into Five Countries, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania And Slovakia, To Protect Local Farmers, Who Feared Ukrainian Grain Was Driving Down The Prices Locally.

When The Ban Ended On 15 September, The EU Chose Not To Renew It, But Hungary, Slovakia And Poland Have Maintained The Ban, Despite The European Commission Emphasizing It Was Not Up To EU Member States To Decide Broader Trade Policy.
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko Said That It Was “Crucially Important For Us To Prove That Individual Member States Cannot Ban Imports Of Ukrainian Goods”.
Sources Said That Kyiv Had Agreed To Withdraw Its Lawsuit Against Slovakia, After The Two Countries Said A Grain Licence System Would Be Set Up In The Coming Months. Poland Has So Far Said The Ban Will Stay In Place, And A “Complaint Before The WTO Doesn’t Impress Us”.

What Is The Way Ahead?

Despite The Ban, The 3 Countries Continue To Allow Grain To Be Transported Through Them To Other Markets. French Foreign Minister Catherina Colonna Said That An EU Study Revealed Ukrainian Grain Imports Would Not Cripple European Farmers And Described The Tensions As “Regrettable”.
Poland Has Provided Much Support To Ukraine As It Defends Itself Against Russia, Urging Germany To Provide The Country With Leopard 2 Battle Tanks, Pledging Fighter Jets To The Country And Welcoming More Than 1.5 Million Refugees From Ukraine.

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Zaheer Hussain

Senior Lecturer General Studies, SSBCrackExams, Passionate Teacher, Masters in Public Administration, Expertise in Polity, History and Current Affairs. Loves Food and traveling Solo.