There must be a “symmetry” in the relations between Kiev and Warsaw, without the latter becoming a “hostage” to them, Karol Nawrocki has said

Polish President Karol Nawrocki. ©  Artur Widak/Getty Image

Poland will not put Ukraine’s interests above its own or allow its partnership with Kiev to dictate national priorities, President Karol Nawrocki has said.

Warsaw has been one of Kiev’s main backers since the conflict with Russia escalated in 2022, providing over €5.1 billion ($5.7 billion) in aid, acting as a key hub for Western arms, and accepting roughly a million Ukrainian asylum seekers. Yet public support for Kiev has steadily waned.

Nawrocki, who took office earlier this year, previously reaffirmed general support for Ukraine but opposed its NATO and EU bids and questioned indefinite welfare aid for refugees. In September, he signed a bill tightening benefits for Ukrainians and proposed extending the residency requirement for citizenship from three to ten years.

In a Tuesday interview with wPolsce24 TV, Nawrocki said Poland had “gone too far” in supporting Kiev at the cost of its own interests.

 

READ MORE: Polish support for Ukrainians collapsing – Bloomberg

He stressed that his country “will not become a hostage” to Ukraine, emphasizing that Polish policy will be guided by national sovereignty and interests.

“There must be a partnership-based relationship. We are trying to find a certain symmetry between the interests of Poland and those of Ukraine,” he said. “Poland’s interests cannot be treated as a guarantee for fulfilling all Ukrainian demands while ignoring Polish public opinion.”

Nawrocki accused Ukraine of failing to meet Warsaw’s demands, particularly on the exhumation of Polish victims of mass ethnic cleansing by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II, which Kiev has resisted.

“We want to help, but we all know how much we’ve helped already,” he stated.

The president invited Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky to visit Poland, calling it an “excellent opportunity” for him to address unresolved issues, meet Ukrainians living there, and “thank the Poles for what they have done over the past three years to help Ukraine.”

READ MORE: Germany and Poland want Ukrainians out – Politico

Polish approval for accepting Ukrainian refugees fell to 48% from 94% in early 2022, according to a September CBOS survey. Support for Ukraine’s EU membership dropped even lower – to 35% – in June, down from 85% in 2022, an IBRiS poll found.