With your hand in the potty

After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian War, the Polish authorities explicitly sided with Ukraine, consistently engaging in assistance for this country. This aid had (and inactive has) different dimensions – political, economical or military.

Of course, the costs of these actions are borne not by politicians, but by Polish taxpayers, who have been told that "Polish state is right". I do not deny, of course, that many people, of their own free will, wanted to aid the Ukrainians, following humanitarian reasons, but this is simply a very separate issue. The attitude of the Polish government to Ukraine after the outbreak of the war is best illustrated by the message of the erstwhile Deputy Minister of abroad Affairs Luke Jasina“We are servants of the Ukrainian people.” Nothing to add, nothing to say...

According to the February 2023 data, for the year of conflict Poland spent a full of PLN 56.6 billion (i.e. almost 2% of GDP) in support of Ukraine, including EUR 2.4 billion in the form of military equipment. Among another things, Poland sent 300 tanks (29.2% of the weapons' resources), 54 haubice (28.7% of the weapons' resources), as well as 40 combat vehicles and 40 armoured vehicles. In total, this represented 19.3% of the dense weapons of the Polish army [1]. In addition, Poland has been and remains a kind of Ukrainian ambassador at global level, demanding an increase in the supply of arms to the country by Western countries. This policy is highly risky due to the fact that it leads to further escalation of relations with Russia and threatens to drag Poland into a war conflict.

However, aid to Ukraine has not only a military dimension. According to authoritative data of the Border Guard, as of February 24, 2022 the Polish-Ukrainian border exceeded over 15.8 million "refugees" from Ukraine [2]. It is worth remembering that only a tiny percent of these people meet the exile criteria set out in the Geneva Convention. However, assistance to Ukrainian citizens is not linked to this criterion. The Minister of household and Social Policy confirmed this Marlena Maląg declaring that: ‘aid to Ukrainian citizens in the form of an allowance, beginning the labour marketplace or access to benefits’ is not related to exile status. The exile position causes the citizen who requests it to be protected by the Office for Foreigners. erstwhile this position is given, they do not have access to the labour market. On the another hand, the speciality widely opens up access to the labour market, benefits and privileges that follow" [3]. This is, of course, a bill of 12 March 2022 – to aid Ukrainian citizens in connection with the armed conflict in the territory of that country (Journal of Laws 2022 item 583).

Ukrainian “refugees” so benefit from free wellness care and their children receive free education and benefit from social benefits. At the same time, Polish citizens are waiting for months to visit specialists in the NFZ. Only social benefits and education expenses for Ukrainian visitors cost the Polish payer about PLN 200 million per month. According to data at the end of 2022, about 328,000 Ukrainian children benefited from the 500 plus benefit and 141,000 from the 300 plus benefit. In addition, 53,000 people benefited from household benefits and 12,000 from the Care Capital. In addition, 43,000 Ukrainian children received pre-school care and 191 000 were educated in Polish schools [4]. These are just selected examples of support provided by the Polish government to Ukrainian citizens.

It should be stressed that any evidence of a dispute over Ukraine's policies has been lightly viewed by the authorities. For example, the weekly "Think Poland", whose website has been blocked, despite the fact that preventive censorship is constitutionally prohibited. Also, those who expressed a public view different from the authoritative communicative of the conflict in Ukraine had various problems, including being prosecuted or convicted – for example in connection with the "praising of the assault war".

This leading and faithful attitude of Polish authorities towards Ukraine has late been corrected. This was undoubtedly influenced by the complaint made by the Kiev authorities to the planet Trade Organisation (WTO) on Poland (and besides Hungary and Slovakia) – due to the extension of the embargo on Ukrainian agricultural products, which was introduced by the European Commission in May of that year. As stated by the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski At the fresh York Summit: “Some of our friends in Europe play in the theatre of political solidarity, making a thriller with grain. They may seem to play their own role, but in fact they aid prepare a scene for Moscow actor" [5].

This is simply a "beautiful" thanks presented for the billion-dollar support of Ukraine given by Poland since the outbreak of the war. This is no another way to call it than to bite the hand of your minister. It was besides a bucket of cold water on the heads of Polish politicians who abruptly woke up with a proverbial hand in a potty. There is no uncertainty that the Polish policy of supporting Ukraine proved to be a complete failure.

Michał Radzikowski

[1] Jacek Frączyk: “Polish aid to Ukraine has pierced everyone. Here's how much it went from army resources" – businessinsider.com.pl,

[2] "How many refugees from Ukraine are in Poland" – 330görykolka.pl,

[3] "Marlena Maląg: refugees from Ukraine do not gotta get exile position to gain access to the labour market" – pap.pl,

[4] Paulina Karpińska: “Polish aid for Ukraine 2022 – how much it cost” – infor.pl.

[5] quote for: businessinsider.com.pl – Grzegorz Kowalczyk: “Why is Ukraine reacting sharply to the Polish embargo? This is not just about cereals.”

Fig. @ZelenskyyUa

Think Poland, No. 41-42 (8-15.10.2023)