Poland is done sending arms to Ukraine, as trade dispute escalates

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine, a comment that appeared aimed at pressuring Kyiv and put Poland’s status as a major source of military equipment in doubt as a trade dispute between the neighboring states escalates.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview late on Wednesday that Poland is no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine. He made the comment as his populist party faces pressure from a far-right party in a national election on Oct. 15. The far-right party, Confederation, says Poland is not getting the gratitude it deserves for arming Ukraine and accepting its refugees.

“We are no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming ourselves with the most modern weapons,” Morawiecki said in an interview on Polsat, a private television broadcaster. He did not elaborate or explain if and how the two actions were mutually exclusive.

The prime minister then spoke of a military modernization plan underway, spurred by fears of Russian aggression in the region.

A government spokesman, Piotr Mueller, appeared to confirm Thursday that Warsaw would not agree to more military aid. He said the country was now only providing supplies of ammunition and armaments that had previously been agreed to, noting that “a series of absolutely unacceptable statements and diplomatic gestures appeared on the Ukrainian side.”

Poland has supplied Ukraine with a wide range of weaponry, including Leopard 2 tanks and Soviet-era MiG fighter jets.

The Polish-Ukrainian spat comes as Ukraine forces are making slow progress breaking through Russian battle lines in a counteroffensive that has not moved as quickly or as well as initially hoped. Kyiv’s leaders are lobbying for a new round of advanced weapons, including longer range missiles.

U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last weekend that there is a continued need for more weapons and equipment in Ukraine and that allies and partners are looking for ways to address that.

A leading security and defense expert, Michal Baranowski, said that Poland gave most of what it could give earlier in the war, and with no plans for shipments of major equipment soon he doesn’t see a threat to Ukraine’s capabilities in the near term. Still, he considers the comments as troubling for Ukraine as it seeks to maintain Western support in the war unleashed by Russia.

“The message is very bad, both for Poland’s reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role,” said Baranowski, managing director of Warsaw-based GMF East, part of the German Marshall Fund think tank.

He said Poland’s attempt to show toughness toward Kyiv should be understood in the context of the election campaign. In response to Morawiecki saying Poland would now focus on modernizing its own forces, Baranowski noted that Poland is capable of both modernizing its military and continuing to help Ukraine.

Donald Tusk, a top opposition leader, accused Morawiecki and other ruling authorities of a “moral and geopolitical scandal of stabbing Ukraine in the back politically when they decide to fight on the Ukrainian front, just because it will be profitable for their campaign.”

Emotions have been running high after Poland, Hungary and Slovakia last week announced a new ban on Ukrainian grain imports, saying they wanted to protect their farmers from a glut of Ukrainian grain in their markets. The grain lowers prices for local farmers and hurts their livelihood. Kyiv responded with a complaint at the World Trade Organization against the three countries that sparked even more angry reactions from Poland.

Polish and Ukrainian agriculture ministers said Thursday they were working to resolve the situation in a way that takes the interests of both countries into account. Meanwhile, Ukraine was lifting its complaint against Slovakia as the two sides sought a resolution, Slovak authorities said Thursday.

At the United Nations on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that the countries opposing Ukraine on grain were in fact working on Russia’s behalf. Poland urgently summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to complain on Wednesday.

Morawiecki in the Polsat interview said that Poland would not take steps to threaten Ukraine’s security.

He said a NATO and U.S. hub in the Polish city of Rzeszow used for transporting weapons into Ukraine would not be affected. “We are not going to risk the security of Ukraine,” he said.

A senior U.S. government official told reporters in Brussels on Thursday that the United States does not view Morawiecki’s statements as a sign of Western unity cracking and expects to see continued leadership from Poland in the effort to help Ukraine.

The official noted that “each country that’s contributing to Ukraine has its own domestic politics and that’s just a reality. Some of these countries are in the middle of election cycles, so they’re also in the middle of messaging their publics.” The official requested anonymity to speak to reporters on the subject.

The German Foreign Ministry said Thursday that “we have taken note of the statement from the Polish side.”

The ministry added that “Ukraine continues to need our full support. It is important that we in Europe act decisively and in solidarity in this regard. Germany will support Ukraine humanitarianly, politically, economically and with weapons for as long as it needs us.”

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

波兰华沙（美联社）——波兰总理表示，波兰将不再向乌克兰输送武器。此番言论似乎意在向基辅施压，并随着邻国间的贸易争端升级，波兰作为主要军事装备来源国的地位也受到质疑。

波兰总理马特乌什·莫拉维茨基周三晚间在接受采访时表示，波兰已停止向乌克兰输送武器。他发表此番言论之际，正值其所在的民粹主义政党在10月15日的大选中面临来自极右翼政党的压力。极右翼政党“联盟党”声称，波兰向乌克兰提供武器并接收其难民，却未得到应有的感激。

莫拉维茨基在接受波兰私营电视台Polsat采访时表示：“我们不再向乌克兰输送任何武器，因为我们现在正在用最先进的武器武装自己。” 他没有详细说明或解释这两项行动是否以及如何相互排斥。

随后，总理谈到了正在进行的军事现代化计划，该计划的出台是出于对俄罗斯在该地区侵略的担忧。

乌克兰政府发言人皮奥特·穆勒周四似乎证实，华沙方面不会同意提供更多军事援助。他表示，乌克兰目前只提供此前已达成协议的弹药和武器装备，并指出“乌克兰方面出现了一系列完全不可接受的声明和外交姿态”。

波兰向乌克兰提供了种类繁多的武器装备，包括豹2坦克和苏联时代的米格战斗机。

波兰和乌克兰之间的争端发生之际，乌克兰军队在反攻中进展缓慢，突破俄军防线的努力并未如预期般迅速或顺利。基辅领导人正在游说俄方提供新一轮先进武器，包括远程导弹。

美国陆军上将、参谋长联席会议主席马克·米利上周末表示，乌克兰仍然需要更多的武器装备，盟友和伙伴正在寻找解决这一问题的方法。

著名安全与防务专家米哈尔·巴拉诺夫斯基表示，波兰在战争初期已经提供了其所能提供的大部分援助，而且近期也没有运送大型装备的计划，因此他认为乌克兰的作战能力在短期内不会受到威胁。不过，他认为这些言论对乌克兰来说令人担忧，因为乌克兰正努力维持西方在这场由俄罗斯挑起的战争中的支持。

“这传递出的信息非常糟糕，不仅损害了波兰的声誉，而且因为波兰一直是向乌克兰提供军事援助的主要倡导者之一。波兰表示不再向乌克兰提供更多武器，意味着波兰无法再扮演这一角色，”总部位于华沙的德国马歇尔基金会智库旗下机构GMF East的总经理巴拉诺夫斯基说道。

他表示，波兰试图向基辅展现强硬姿态，应该放在选举活动的背景下理解。针对莫拉维茨基称波兰现在将专注于自身军队的现代化建设，巴拉诺夫斯基指出，波兰既有能力实现军队现代化，也有能力继续帮助乌克兰。

反对派领导人唐纳德·图斯克指责莫拉维茨基和其他执政当局犯下了“道德和地缘政治丑闻，他们决定在乌克兰前线作战，仅仅是因为这对他们的竞选有利，就是在政治上背后捅乌克兰一刀”。

上周，波兰、匈牙利和斯洛伐克宣布禁止进口乌克兰粮食，称此举是为了保护本国农民免受乌克兰粮食过剩的冲击。这些粮食导致当地农民的粮食价格下跌，损害了他们的生计。基辅方面随即向世界贸易组织提起申诉，控告这三个国家，此举引发了波兰方面更加强烈的愤怒反应。

波兰和乌克兰农业部长周四表示，双方正在努力寻求兼顾两国利益的解决方案。与此同时，斯洛伐克当局周四表示，乌克兰已撤销对斯洛伐克的申诉，双方正在寻求解决方案。

周二在联合国，乌克兰总统泽连斯基暗示，那些在粮食问题上反对乌克兰的国家实际上是在为俄罗斯效力。波兰周三紧急召见乌克兰大使，就此提出抗议。

莫拉维茨基在接受波兰电视台采访时表示，波兰不会采取任何威胁乌克兰安全的措施。

他表示，位于波兰热舒夫市的北约和美国武器运输枢纽（用于向乌克兰运送武器）不会受到影响。“我们不会拿乌克兰的安全冒险，”他说。

一位美国高级政府官员周四在布鲁塞尔告诉记者，美国并不认为莫拉维茨基的声明是西方团结出现裂痕的迹象，并希望看到波兰继续在帮助乌克兰的努力中发挥领导作用。

这位官员指出，“每个向乌克兰提供援助的国家都有自己的国内政治，这是不争的事实。其中一些国家正处于选举周期，因此他们也在积极向公众传递信息。”这位官员要求匿名接受记者采访。

德国外交部周四表示，“我们已经注意到波兰方面的声明。”

该部补充说：“乌克兰仍然需要我们全力支持。欧洲在这方面采取果断团结的行动至关重要。只要乌克兰需要我们，德国就会在人道主义、政治、经济和武器方面支持乌克兰。”

美联社驻布鲁塞尔记者洛恩·库克、驻柏林记者克斯汀·格里沙贝尔和驻布拉格记者卡雷尔·亚尼切克对本报道亦有贡献。