"Zelensky is very wrong"

Poland says the Ukrainian president is blindly following German instructions, but this is a big mistake.

Ottawa, 2023. szeptember 23. Volodimir Zelenszkij ukrán elnök a Justin Trudeau kanadai miniszterelnökkel közösen tartott sajtótájékoztatójukon Ottawában 2023. szeptember 22-én. MTI/AP/The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick Fotó: Sean Kilpatrick

Jacek Leski of the Polish television network TVP also appeared on the program, pointing out that Zelensky had accused the Poles at the UN of helping the Russians.

President Zelensky's statement at the UN General Assembly forum is, in my opinion, a major political blunder. In Ukraine the comments are different, but most of them suggest that Mr Zelensky made a fatal mistake when he said that,

said Jacek Leski. The statement would cast a shadow over Polish-Ukrainian relations for many years to come, he opined.

Moreover, the repercussions will be so significant that support for aid to Ukraine will diminish in Poland. If Kyiv pulls a stunt like this, it will be much harder for any government to maintain such a high level of commitment to Ukraine. This is no way to behave towards a country that provides help as a friend wherever it can,

he added.

Marek Formela, editor-in-chief of the Polish newspaper Gazeta Gdanska was asked on the program where the diplomatic row over the grain could lead. He replied by saying that if Ukraine escalates the situation, responds with an embargo on more Polish agricultural products and does not withdraw its complaint to the WTO, there will be even more serious problems in relations between the two countries. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on 22 September 2023 (Photo: MTI/AP/The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)