The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 allowed Poland, which is best known for its tensions with the European Union (of which it is a member) over issues of the rule of law, to rebuild its reputation. It has become a major pillar of NATO and one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies.
It is also one of the States that hosts the most refugees fleeing this conflict. US President Joe Biden has visited Warsaw twice, making Poland one of the most visited European countries by his administration.
This activism is explained by historical reasons.
Poland and Russia: a common interest for Ukraine
Poland is an influential state in Central Europe that has historically positioned itself as a rival to Russia for centuries.
The fact that this country was under Russian and Soviet occupation several times in its history contributed to a strong Polish resentment, exacerbated by the division of its territory at the end of the XVIIIe century between Prussia, the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire or by the Soviet occupation after the Second World War.
In this respect, the fear of the USSR remains present in the mentality of the Poles. The Soviet-Polish War of 1920 between the nascent Soviet Union and Poland which had just regained its independence after the end of World War I, the German-Soviet Pact which brought Nazi Germany and the Stalinist USSR to invade the Poland and the revelations about the massacre of part of the Polish elite in the Katyn Forest in 1940 are examples of events that fueled a negative perception of Russians by Poles. This antipathy plays a crucial role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict today.
Added to this is the fact that Ukraine found itself in the zone of influence of both countries and was occupied by them. In the fourteenthe century, under the reign of the Polish king Casimir the Great, Galicia-Volhynia, which corresponds in part to the west of modern Ukraine, was annexed by Poland, which then proceeded with a policy of acculturation of the Ukrainian peoples. This ended in 1569 when the territory became Polish, being henceforth integrated into that of the new Poland-Lithuania. However, this acculturation will be challenged. In the XVIIe century, the Cossack populations, who populated the east of Ukraine, organized uprisings so that the Ukrainian territories could acquire a certain independence vis-à-vis Poland. Muscovite Russia was then called for help, leading, in 1654, to the Treaty of Pereïaslav and the placing under Russian protection of a significant part of Ukraine.
The end of the First World War will again change the Ukrainian situation. Western Ukraine (around the Lviv region) becomes Polish territory again, while the rest of the country remains in the nascent USSR. This geographical division still has significant consequences today: the Ukrainians most in favor of a rapprochement with the European Union and NATO are located in the former Polish regions.
A Poland attentive to the future of Ukraine in the 21ste century
Poland, like the Baltic countries, will be attentive and active vis-à-vis the geopolitical situation of Ukraine in the 21ste century, especially since the pro-European demonstrations in Ukraine in 2013, called “Euromaidan”, and after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014.
Apart from the fact that Ukraine and Poland share a border with Russia, be it the metropolitan territory or the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, bordering Polish territory, these countries also embrace the same desire to prevent a comeback of Russia in Europe, especially in the form of military interventionism.
In accordance with the desire of the conservative government (PiS) currently in power in Poland to become a regional power and regain an area of influence in Europe, Warsaw has multiplied initiatives to support Ukraine, well before 2022.
The most notable are the creation of Bucharest Nine in 2015, an informal forum within NATO made up of Central European member countries to push the Organization to face Russia, or the Lublin triangle created in 2020 between Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine to strengthen cooperation between the three countries.
It should be remembered that Lublin is the city where the Union between Poland and Lithuania was signed in 1569, marking the birth of the Republic of Two Nations. A historical reference which is not insignificant in a context where the various camps use and exploit History to justify their international policies.
Thus, Ukraine has now again become the terrain of Russian-Polish rivalry. However, the Polish merit is to pursue its policy of influence through diplomacy for the time being.