Poland’s Ambassador to the United States Marek Magierowski has insisted that Warsaw will not be lectured on the issue of Ukraine and scolded those describing the Polish government as hypocritical and pro-Russian for its recent decision to stop arming its war-torn neighbor.
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal published on Tuesday, the Polish diplomat referred to claims of disloyalty following its recent foreign policy U-turn, coupled with the extension of a ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain on Poland’s domestic market, as “farcical” and said they had “served as a pretext to bash my country for its apparent change of heart.”
Magierowski, who has been stationed in Washington D.C. since 2021, named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as one critic and lamented his remarks made at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week in which he accused Warsaw of “playing out solidarity in a political theater” while at the same time “helping set the stage for a Moscow actor” — or in other words, doing the bidding of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Poland doesn’t play theatrical games, and we certainly don’t pander to Vladimir Putin. Though our relations with Ukraine have always been complex, we are proud of what we have done for that nation since Feb. 24, 2022. You can’t erase that past,” Magierowski wrote.
He proceeded to provide a non-exhaustive list of all the support offered to Kyiv by both the conservative administration in Warsaw and the wider Polish population in the last two years, highlighting the $9 billion handed over in humanitarian aid and the “thousands of volunteers who filled shopping carts with food, clothes and personal hygiene products for Ukrainians who had found safe shelter on Polish soil.”
“You can’t erase the $3 billion in security assistance, the more than 300 tanks, fighter jets, howitzers, antiaircraft systems, and tons of ammunition Poland has provided to Ukraine over the past 19 months. You can’t forget that Warsaw consistently and unwaveringly advocates Kyiv’s admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” Magierowski added.
The diplomat reminded readers of the U.S. publication that “Poland knows firsthand what Russian occupation means” and has long been a thorn in Moscow’s side within both NATO and the European Union, while other member states chose a more collaborative path.
In a staunch defense of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s administration, Magierowski reiterated the importance for Warsaw to “continue to strengthen our own military — spending more than 4 percent of GDP on defense — and expect our NATO partners to follow suit.”
He added that Poland, while perhaps now choosing to look more inward to ensure its own security, is still on the side of Ukraine and will continue to support its neighbor in its own way.
“Ukrainian grain can still transit through our nation. Western weapons continue to flow to Ukraine via the logistical hub in Rzeszów,” he wrote.
In a warning to those questioning Poland’s commitment, Magierowski reminded critics that Poland is not helping the Russian cause, but those “lecturing a reliable and prescient ally, the first country to help the Ukrainians in their darkest hour,” definitely are.
