Poland is not supplying Ukraine with weapons anymore because it is focused on rearming its own army, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on 20 September, according to Polsat.
Answering the question of whether Poland will continue to support Ukraine militarily amid the controversy between Poland and Ukraine over the import of Ukrainian grain, Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland is not currently providing Kyiv with any weapons and has no such plans because the Polish government is focused on arming Polish Army “with the most modern weapons.”
“You must have something to defend yourself with. This is our principle, so we have increased purchases of weapons,” Mateusz Morawiecki said.
Morawiecki also recalled his recent visits to arms factories where Polish equipment is manufactured, namely Krab self-propelled artillery systems and KTO Rosomak armored personnel carriers. Poland supplied Krabs to Ukraine’s Armed Forces after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“We are focusing mainly on modernizing and rapidly arming the Polish Army to make it one of the strongest armies in Europe. And we plan to achieve this in a very short time,” Mateusz Morawiecki said.
The Polish prime Minister also added that Poland’s decision not to provide Ukraine with its weapons would not jeopardize Ukraine’s security.
According to the Polish government, Poland has provided Kyiv with more than three billion euros of military aid since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Polish military assistance to Ukraine included ammunition, armored vehicles, tanks, self-propelled howitzers, and Soviet-era fighter jets, which Poland decided to transfer among the first.
Morawiecki’s statements came against the backdrop of tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv over unilateral Polish restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products and Ukraine’s decision to file a complaint to the World Trade Organization over import bans.
Related:
- Ukraine to sue Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia over grain ban
- Two cargo ships arrive in Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port to load grain amid Russia’s blockade
- Bulgaria lifts ban on Ukrainian grain starting 15 September
- AFP: Ukraine has been exporting grain through a Croatian port for over a year
