By asking Poland to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky is attempting to get Warsaw involved in the war, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said in an interview with Radio ZET on Nov. 4.
Gawkowski's comments came amid a growing diplomatic spat between Kyiv and Warsaw, revolving around the Polish support for Ukraine as well as historical grievances.
"Zelensky wants Poland to shoot missiles over Ukraine, which means he wants Poland to enter the war, which means he wants Poland to be at war with Russia," said Gawkowski, who also serves as the digital affairs minister for the co-governing Left coalition.
"By these statements, Zelensky wants to drag Poland into the war with Russia."
Zelensky recently criticized Poland for not yet providing its remaining MiG-29 fighter jets despite previous agreements.
The president also said he had "constantly asked" Poland to shoot down Russian missiles flying in its direction, particularly to protect the gas storage facility in the town of Stryi in Ukraine's Lviv Oblast, located nearly 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Daria Svitlyk
Russian drones and missiles have previously entered Poland's airspace during attacks on Ukraine but have never been intercepted by the Polish military. Poland's allies advised the government to exercise restraint when dealing with unidentified airspace violations, according to Warsaw.
"I feel that the last words that came from President Zelensky are unworthy of a politician who owes Poland a lot," Gawkowski reacted.
"The equipment that was transferred, the citizens who were taken care of... Poland is a great friend of Ukraine, a transport hub. It seemed to me that in such situations, you say 'thank you.'"
Poland has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine on the world stage, campaigning for Kyiv to receive all the required weaponry to win the war that Russia had begun. It has also provided Ukraine with around $3.5 billion in military aid since 2022 and hosts close to 1 million Ukrainian refugees.
Yet, bilateral relations are far from perfect, with the two countries sharing long-standing unresolved grievances. Some of the recent disputes centered around the resolution of the Volyn massacre carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army against Poles during World War II in 1943-44.
Gawkowski was not the only Polish official to respond to Zelensky's criticism. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski commented that his country has done more for Kyiv "than any other nation."
"We're trying to help, but we're also a front-line country. Russia also threatens us, and not everything is possible," he added.
Francis Farrell
