Under Andrzej Duda, Poland became one of Ukraineʼs main allies. He was a moderate conservative, an official member of the opposition right-wing party Law and Justice (PIS). Duda was elected twice, for two consecutive terms. In 2025, Poles elected Karol Nawrocki.
Unlike his predecessor, Karol Nawrocki has more hard-line nationalist views and openly anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. Formally, he ran as an independent candidate, but received support from the same right-wing conservative party “PIS”. His victory reflects a shift in Poland’s internal mood.
A significant part of the population is now leaning towards the idea of “Poland First”. Nawrocki insists that Poles should receive state aid as a priority, and that it should be limited for foreigners.
When Andrzej Dudaʼs term ended, his secretary of state for foreign policy wrote a lengthy article about Polandʼs role on the eve of the Great War. It provides insight into how Polish politicians were guided by their own countryʼs interests and how important the "Volyn Issue" was to them. Below is a brief retelling of it.
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Poland was the first country in the world to recognize Ukraine’s independence in 1991. And three decades later, it was the first to offer a helping hand when Russia launched a full-scale invasion. President Andrzej Duda served two terms and made Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation one of his priorities.
Disputes between the countries arose during the presidency of Petro Poroshenko and were related to historical moments. Since the beginning of Dudaʼs rule, Poland has intensified the restoration of the memory of the victims of the UPA, which has affected conservative and right-wing voters, in particular those who supported Duda in 2015.
As a result, sympathy for Ukraine in this segment of society has decreased.
A key factor was a 2015 Ukrainian law that granted UPA fighters combatant status and effectively banned criticism of them. In response, the Polish Sejm in 2016 recognized the Volyn tragedy as genocide “committed by Ukrainian nationalists against Poles”.
Both sides accused each other of trying to “rewrite history” and for four years did not adopt a single important document in their relations. Although they were in constant contact and met relatively often.
President Petro Poroshenko, together with the Ukrainian delegation, laid flowers at the monument to the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Warsaw, July 8, 2016.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
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The situation changed in 2021, under the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky. And the United States helped in this. More precisely, their uncertainty about the ability of the Ukrainian army to withstand the Russian invasion.
Polish-American relations were tense at the time. The Biden administration viewed Andrzej Duda as a friend of Trump, with whom it had developed a good relationship. There was little contact between Poland and the United States, and for most of the year Washington did not have an ambassador to Poland.
Two days before Biden’s meeting with Putin in December 2021, the United States held a conference call with Western European leaders without inviting Poland. Only after that conversation did the White House initiate a phone call between Biden and the leaders of the Bucharest Nine, which included Polish President Andrzej Duda.
He called on the United States to take a tough stance on Russia, emphasized the principle of “nothing about us without us”, and criticized the weak response to Moscow’s actions. Thanks to these actions, Duda strengthened his relationship with Zelensky.
The US President and the head of the Kremlin — Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin — held talks via video conference. This took place against the backdrop of data on the concentration of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, December 7, 2021.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Poland has stressed that the United States should increase arms supplies to Ukraine. Jakub himself told the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that Kyiv does not require the presence of foreign troops, in particular the American army, but it does need weapons.
He also stated that in the event of a Russian attack, Poland is ready to become a major logistical center for arms supplies — a similar role played by Pakistan during the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The comparison with Pakistan has led military and security experts to start calling the logistics center near Rzeszow "Rzeszow" — by analogy with the Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
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Neither the United States nor its European allies were confident that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would survive the full-scale invasion, and they wanted to prevent war at all costs, even if it meant destabilizing Ukraine and putting Russia under its control.
The ruling party leadership believed that Russiaʼs possible control over Ukraine would worsen Polish security. Therefore, helping Kyiv maintain its independence was in Polandʼs interests.
Under these circumstances, a three-day conference between Duda and Zelensky took place at the Polish residence "Wisła" in late January 2022.
Zelenskyʼs visit to Poland, January 20, 2022.
Instagram / Володимир Зеленський
In fact, it was planned back in 2021 — it was supposed to restore contacts between the two countries after the pandemic lockdown. Andrzej Duda wanted to understand how much Zelensky was capable of making a breakthrough on “historical issues” and see how reliable a partner he would be. But all topics were overshadowed by a possible war.
The conference established trust between the teams and formed friendly personal relations between the two presidents. At the meeting, Andrzej Duda stated that in the event of war, Poland would open its borders to refugees and create an arms supply center for Ukraine.
He also demanded that “Ukrzaliznytsia” unblock transit through Ukraine from China and Central Asia, and Ukraine promised to inform Poland about the progress of negotiations with Russia.
Temporary shelter for Ukrainian refugees on the outskirts of Przemyśl, March 5, 2022.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Regarding historical issues, Duda stressed that Poles react sharply to manifestations of the “cult of the guilty” in the Volyn tragedy, such as Roman Shukhevych and Klym Savur. He proposed a compromise — Ukraine would exclude them from the list of national heroes, and Poland would refrain from demanding to condemn the entire Ukrainian nationalist movement of the interwar period and World War II. Ukraine agreed.
However, Jakub Kumoch emphasizes that this was only “a kind of tactical ceasefire”, and not a lasting Polish-Ukrainian agreement.
Poland has stated to the Ukrainian side at all levels that it will not join any initiatives that would force Ukraine to yield to Russia. A brief test of this promise was the meeting of the Weimar Triangle — Poland, France, and Germany — in Berlin in February 2022.
At that meeting, Andrzej Duda refused to sign a declaration calling on Ukraine to implement the Minsk agreements. Duda called it “Putin’s trap”.
Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of the Weimar Triangle meeting in Berlin, February 8, 2022.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
He also had never personally met with the head of the Kremlin and considered it a matter of principle.
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Given the imminent threat of war, Andrzej Duda joined international negotiations. In particular, he participated in the "10+1" meetings organized by the United States.
Before the invasion began, three such online meetings took place — on January 24, February 11, and 18, 2022.
The conversation on February 11 was particularly important. Duda advocated tough sanctions against Russia, including a crackdown on the Russian currency. He argued that in the event of an attack, the ruble should be devalued and that Ukraine would be supplied with increasingly deadly weapons.
Poland, unlike other countries, did not have mechanisms for economic sanctions against Russia, and was therefore ready to become a transit point. Duda also wanted to exclude Russia from international cultural exchange and sports.
Later, the idea of sports sanctions was supported by Ursula von der Leyen.
A virtual meeting organized by Joe Biden amid Russiaʼs troop buildup on the Ukrainian border, attended by Andrzej Duda, January 24, 2022.
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The day before the full-scale invasion, Andrzej Duda planned to visit Kyiv. Together with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, he wanted to personally support the Ukrainians’ will to resist and ensure that Ukraine would have weapons. The plans for the visit were kept secret.
Trilateral meeting of the presidents of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland in Kyiv, February 23, 2022.
It was also the last opportunity to meet with the Polish embassy team. Unlike all allied countries, Poland left its ambassador in Kyiv, despite all the risks. Kumoch says that he personally initiated this decision, although it concerned his long-time close friend.
He was supported by the president and then Polish foreign minister. Poland signaled that it believed in the effective defense of Ukraine.
Two days after the outbreak of the Great War, Andrzej Duda called for Ukraine to be given a fast track to EU membership, including candidate status. This was to boost Ukraine’s morale and show its promising post-war future.
Seven other presidents from Central and Eastern Europe issued the same statement on February 28. Only Hungary and Romania refused, citing technical reasons. Poland also found support from Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová.
On the same day, Ukraine applied for EU membership.
Volodymyr Zelensky signs Ukraineʼs application for membership in the European Union, February 28, 2022.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
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Despite all the assistance to Ukraine, Poland acted primarily in its own interests. It viewed the transfer of weapons not as a “gift”, but as a means of fighting against a country that could threaten Poland’s independence.
At the same time, Andrzej Duda always prioritized the events in Volyn. The resolution of this issue between Ukraine and Poland is still ongoing.
Polish societyʼs support for refugees and active aid to Ukraine have boosted President Dudaʼs authority. After the invasion, he became one of the most respected leaders in the West. When he criticized other countries, it was taken very seriously by local media, and his words had an impact.