"This is Stalin's gift to the Poles." Why Warsaw's support for Kyiv is in the interests of Poland itself

Exclusive. And not only Ukraine

Presidents of Ukraine and Poland Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Andrzej Duda

Andrzej Duda said during a press conference in New York that he and the Polish government will firmly protect the interests of Polish farmers in the case of Ukrainian grain. The President of Poland compared Ukraine's actions to the situation of a drowning man clutching at a straw. "Ukraine is being attacked by Russia, it is undoubtedly in a very difficult situation. She grabs everything she can. Is it possible to have claims against her for this? Of course it is possible. Do we need to act to protect ourselves from being harmed by a drowning person? Of course, we must act to protect ourselves from the drowning person harming us, because if the drowning person harms us and drowns us, he will be without help," he noted.

Duda hints that Ukraine should give way to its "savior" Poland. However, this is an extremely unfortunate analogy, because Ukraine's defense of its economic interests does not pose a mortal danger for Poland, unlike the risk for a rescuer who helps a drowning person. Ukrainians are fighting against the existential threat from Russia, but they are by no means "sinking": thanks to their own resilience, as well as the support of their partners, Ukraine is confident of its future victory.

"I made a decision to conduct a special military operation. Its purpose is to protect people who have been subjected to mockery and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years. And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. And also to the trial of those who have committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation," Putin said in an address on the night of February 24. However, the dictator's plans failed.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, Ukraine has already liberated more than half of the territories captured by the Russians, noted the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milly at a briefing after the Ramstein meeting. "Ukraine continues to achieve success. As of today, Ukraine has already released 54% of the captured lands," he noted. Milly also emphasized that Ukraine continues to liberate its territories in the future.

According to the Stockholm International Institute for World Research (SIPRI), by the end of 2022, Ukraine became the third largest importer of major weapons. For the first time in history, the Armed Forces of Ukraine entered the top 15 ranking of the world's armies compiled by experts of the Global Firepower (GFP) company, bypassing Iran, Israel, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Taiwan and Germany. In the rating of the strongest armies of Europe, Ukraine rose to the 4th place.

More than half of Ukrainians speak the state language at home, more than 80% consider Ukrainian their native language. In addition, respondents consider speaking Ukrainian at home as one of the signs of patriotism. These are the results of the survey of the rating sociological group, which was conducted on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine. Starting from March 2022, the use of the Russian language in everyday life will noticeably decrease. Almost 60% of respondents usually communicate at home in Ukrainian, about 30% in Ukrainian and Russian, and only 9% in Russian.

Warsaw's support for Kyiv is not only altruism, but also a fundamental interest of Poland itself. Ukraine is at the forefront of deterring Russian aggression in Europe, and Poland is right behind it.

Russia will have to fight with all the former republics of the USSR, stated the deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Fedorov. "All former republics will sooner or later conflict or fight with Russia. This is a question of theory. Some of them will not be present: Belarus. Georgia has already fought, Ukraine. This fully applies to Armenia as well," he said. He claims that military conflicts can be avoided if the republics are returned diplomatically. Where, in his opinion, the former post-Soviet countries should be returned, the deputy did not specify - it is assumed that he is talking about the USSR.

If successful, Putin will not stop at the post-Soviet space, just as Hitler did not. The St. Petersburg Chekist has territorial claims, including to Warsaw. Poland received significant land in the West thanks to Stalin, but if Warsaw forgot about it, Russia will remind, Putin said in July. "It was thanks to the Soviet Union, thanks to Stalin's position, that Poland received significant lands in the West, the lands of Germany. That's right, the western territories of present-day Poland are Stalin's gift to the Poles. Have our friends in Warsaw forgotten about this? We will remind," he said.

As for the dispute over the export of agricultural products, Ukraine acts strictly within the framework of the rules and agreements with the EU. Kyiv is ready to accept a WTO decision — even if it is not in its favor.

Vera Perovskaya