MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused Western allies of trying to shift the burden of military aid to Kiev onto Warsaw, while pressuring Poland to send troops to Ukraine.
"I keep telling everyone around me: ‘Gentlemen, our partners don’t really want to acknowledge our contribution to supporting Ukraine. That’s not in their interest. What they really want is to squeeze us, to extract as much as possible from us, to give as little as possible themselves, and to rely on others to do the heavy lifting,’" Duda said in an interview with Onet. He emphasized that he did not consider Poland’s participation in a potential NATO stabilization mission in Ukraine necessary.
"It’s politics - tough politics," the president continued. "Who’s going to give more? The real question is: who can be persuaded to give more so that others don’t have to? Unfortunately, that’s how it works."
Duda went further, suggesting that instead of Poland, "military personnel from Spain, France, and Portugal," who are "relaxing in beach huts on azure shores," should be sent to Ukraine.
He also figuratively proposed denying Western partners the use of Polish roads and Rzeszow Airport for cargo transit to Ukraine, so they would better understand Warsaw’s true significance.
Duda also criticized Ukrainian authorities for failing to recognize that Poland bears the highest risks by providing critical infrastructure support. "I don’t think our Ukrainian neighbors want to focus on this point. Ukrainian authorities don’t particularly want to remember such details," he added.