Poland and Ukraine clash after the UN speech
A retrospective on a day of diplomatic friction between Warsaw and Kyiv over weapons, grain and a speech in New York.
What happened between Poland and Ukraine on 20 September 2023, and why did it matter for Kyiv's closest neighbours? It was a day of open diplomatic friction.
The Polish Foreign Ministry summoned Vasyl Zvarych, Ukraine's ambassador to Poland, to convey a strong protest. The cause was the address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he said that the actions of some European countries indirectly help Russia. The remark drew condemnation from Poland.
The same day, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Poland would stop supplying Ukraine with weapons. The announcement came amid tensions between the two countries over Poland's import ban on Ukrainian agricultural products.
A tense backdrop in Warsaw
The dispute unfolded as Polish politics was already dealing with a separate controversy. On 19 September 2023, documents allegedly from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs were reported to indicate that the Polish embassy in Minsk had issued 784,173 visas to people from 65 countries with the help of a Moscow-based company. The reports said that people denied entry at the Belarus–European Union border during the border crisis may also have been granted visas. The affair was linked to the 2023 Polish parliamentary election.
Other news for Ukraine
On 19 September 2023, CNN, citing a source in the Ukrainian military, reported that Ukrainian special forces were likely behind recent drone strikes and a ground operation against Wagner Group mercenaries in Sudan.
Looking back, 20 September 2023 combined a diplomatic protest, a declared halt to arms supplies and a trade dispute in a single day for the two neighbours.
