'Never insult Poles...': Polish PM warns Zelensky as allies turn bitter

The relationship between allies Poland and Ukraine appears to be fast deteriorating after the Polish prime minister told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not to "insult" Poles again.

"I...want to tell President Zelensky never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was quoted as saying by state-run news agency PAP on Friday (September 22).

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Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Poland has been one of the biggest allies of Ukraine, supplying much of the weapons to the war-hit nation. Much of the weaponry that the United States and other countries send to Ukraine, passes through Poland.

However, after Warsaw decided to extend the ban on Ukrainian grain imports last week to protect its farmers, despite the UN suggesting otherwise, Zelensky went on an offensive.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Zelensky inadvertently targeted the Polish regime, which appears to have not gone well with Morawiecki. The Ukrainian president criticised the allies saying some countries were only pretending to support his nation as it wages a counteroffensive to retake land taken by Russia.

We will not arm Ukraine:Morawiecki

Morawiecki's statement is a continuation of the aggressive standpoint he has taken on Ukraine over the last week or so.

On Wednesday (September 20), the Polish PM, surprising many, said Warsaw would no longer arm Ukraine and instead focus on its own defence.

"We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons," said Morawiecki when quizzed if his country would continue to back Kyiv.

After his statement caused a stir, Polish President Andrzej Duda attempted to simmer the situation by claiming that the PM's words had been misinterpreted.

Duda talking to a Polish television channel said Morawiecki's "words were interpreted in the worst way possible...In my opinion, the prime minister meant that we won't be transferring to Ukraine the new weaponry that we're currently buying as we modernise the Polish army."

"As we receive the new weaponry from the US and South Korea, we will be releasing the weaponry currently used by the Polish army. Perhaps we will transfer it to Ukraine," Duda added.

Watch |Poland fumes over Ukrainian president's Volodymyr Zelensky's UN speech

The last ditch effort, however, appears to not have worked as Morawiecki continues with the sharp rhetoric that could potentially redefine the relationship between the two nations.

With the general election taking place next month in Poland, and the grain issue remaining a particularly sensitive topic, it doesn't come as a surprise that Morawiecki has taken a provocative stance.

(With inputs from agencies)

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