The Polish-Ukrainian Dispute Is Taking On Yet Another Security-Related Dimension

Both the ruling liberal coalition and their conservative opponents were hardcore Ukrainophiles till just recently, and both prioritized Ukraine’s security over Poland’s in their own ways, but the era of “Ukraine First” now seems to have finally ended.

The spiraling Polish-Ukrainian dispute, which began with Zelensky glorifying the Volhynia Genocide’s OUN-UPA culprits at the state level and thus prompting his counterpart Karol Nawrocki to revoke Poland’s highest honor from him, is gradually taking on more security-related dimensions. The first came after “A Senior Ukrainian Sergeant Threatened Poland With Drone Strikes Against Its Cities” and the second after Ukraine reneged on its drones-for-MiGs deal with Poland. There’s now a third one.

Do Rzeczy reported on Deputy Marshal of the Sejm Krzysztof Bosak’s post on X in response to journalist Paweł Sokala’s one about how the Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling liberal coalition secretly transferred Patriot missiles to Ukraine in March without informing the Sejm or even the President. This is scandalous for three reasons: 1) the President and the Sejm should be informed of major security-related decisions; 2) Patriot missiles are now in short supply; and 3) Ukraine later backstabbed Poland.

Do Rzecy’s report also quoted former Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak’s related post on X. It reads in part that, “If the government has indeed decided to transfer them abroad in a situation where it itself warns of possible Russian provocations and threats to Poland’s security, this sounds like an action completely contrary to the basic duty of the authorities, namely ensuring the safety of their own citizens.” He’s referring to Tusk’s warning that Russia might soon stage a provocation against Poland.

It was explained here why recent US-sourced reports about this are fake news from the deep state, but generally speaking, most Poles genuinely regard Russia as a threat for historical reasons that are beyond the scope of this piece to detail or critique. That’s why the latest report that Tusk’s government secretly gave Ukraine Patriot missiles during the Third Gulf War, when it was already by then obvious that they’d soon be in short supply, is such a scandal since it’s seen as sacrificing Poland’s security for Ukraine’s.

This also makes Zelensky’s state-level glorification of the OUN-UPA even more infuriating for Poles since it means that he decided to spit in their face despite having just received these missiles from their country to protect his compatriots. Poland’s ruling liberals, who’ve recently begun to harden their approach to Ukraine in response to public pressure with fall 2027’s next Sejm elections in mind, therefore have even more egg on their face than before as a result of this security-related debacle.

Their prioritization of Ukraine’s security over Poland’s is nothing short of scandalous, especially given how Tusk is once again fearmongering about an impending Russian attack after first doing so in late April, so this is expected to further reduce his coalition’s approval rating. In response, he’s expected to double down on describing the opposition as Russia’s puppets and/or further harden his approach to Ukraine, both of which would be distractions but only the second would be a positive one for Poles as a whole.

Looking forward, the Polish-Ukrainian dispute is expected to spiral and exacerbate Poland’s already deep political divide, with both factors significantly influencing fall 2027’s next Sejm elections. Everything from now till then should therefore be analyzed through this prism. Both the ruling liberal coalition and their conservative opponents were hardcore Ukrainophiles till just recently, and both prioritized Ukraine’s security over Poland’s in their own ways, but the era of “Ukraine First” now seems to have finally ended.