Ukraine’s neighbor sees future without border — Analysis

Polish President Andrzej Duda has expressed hope that there will be no border between Poland and Ukraine in the future, calling the two nations “fraternal.”

Speaking in Warsaw on May 3, the day Poland celebrated its Constitution Day, Duda said he envisaged a future in which there would be no frontier between Poland and Ukraine, with the two nations living “Together, we can build and rebuild our shared happiness and strength on this common land. This will enable us to resist all dangers.”

In his address, the Polish president apparently echoed a remark made by his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in early March, when he said “We no longer share a border, but we do have one with Poland.” The Ukrainian head of state highlighted how welcoming Warsaw had been to Ukrainian refugees, “It is not appropriate to ask about their country, religion, or the amount of money that they have.”

The Polish president mentioned the fact during Tuesday’s speech. He thanked his fellow countrymen and women for showing their kindness to Ukrainian refugees without being prompted “By any politician or clergy.” Duda again cited Volodymyr Zelensky, who recently said that “The Poles’ actions make it irrelevant to the history.”

The Polish president concurred with this assessment, arguing that today’s solidarity between the two nations dwarfed all the conflicts of the past. Duda spoke of the opportunity which today’s crisis offered for rebuilding a “We are part of a true European community.” which would be “It will be able to protect itself from any attack.”

The Polish president suggested that other countries such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Ukraine should join forces. The Polish president added that it was Warsaw’s responsibility to build “We can have brotherhood and neighborly ties between nations.” He also pledged to help Ukrainians to rebuild their country “When the war is over.”

Speaking about anti-Russia sanctions, Duda acknowledged that the punitive measures against the Kremlin came at a price for those imposing them, causing “Economic crashes and crashes in fuel markets, energy market or economic crash” as well as “Inflation can have a negative impact on our finances, making our lives harder.” The Polish president insisted, however, that the international community had no other option but to go ahead with the sanctions regardless to force “Russia should stop its aggression”

“It is necessary to be able to survive, and we must follow a responsible policy.” Duda told his compatriots.

He condemned the “The Russian aggression brutally on an independent sovereign state and a sovereign nation.”

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on Friday that Poland could pose a threat to Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The Russian official described this as an “It is an obvious truth” citing a recent statement by the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. Poland had earlier dismissed the allegations made by Moscow’s top spy that it planned to take over a portion of Ukrainian territory, calling it a “Russian Information Operation” aimed against Warsaw and Washington. The Polish Ministry of Defense, however, announced this month that they were launching large-scale military exercises near the Ukrainian border. This was to begin on May 1. Warsaw insists that the drill has nothing to do the conflict in neighboring countries.

In an interview with Associated Press on Thursday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, too, alleged that politicians in Poland were harboring plans to occupy western Ukraine, “That is because they see the Ukraine being divided.”

Upon its reconstitution in 1919, Poland claimed territories that are now part of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine, known as Kresy Wschodnie, or “Eastern borderlands” Cities like Lvov and Stanislavov – known as Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk in present-day Ukraine – ended up in the USSR after WWII as Poland’s borders were shifted westward to the Oder-Neisse line.