Polish diplomat in Ukraine: ‘I thought only Russians could behave so shamefully’

Poland's top consular official in western Ukraine expressed regret over actions by her fellow citizens who escalated their blockade of the Ukrainian border and spilled Ukrainian grain from a freight on the tracks.

Feb 21, 2024 - 07:52

Polish diplomat in Ukraine: ‘I thought only Russians could behave so shamefully’

The Polish Consul General in Lviv, Eliza Dzwonkiewicz, apologized to Ukrainians on her Facebook page on 20 February for the “shameful actions” of her fellow citizens at the Polish-Ukrainian border.

On 20 February, Polish farmers protesting against Ukrainian imports escalated their blockade of the Ukrainian border and spilled Ukrainian grain from a freight car on the tracks.

Dzwonkiewicz wrote in her post that out of love for her homeland, she could not “pretend not to see the disgraceful deeds at the border.” She expressed her belief that this “cannot be the doing” of Poles.

“I thought only Russians could behave so shamefully,” the diplomat said, recalling the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, in particular, the refusal of Soviet troops to allow Allied planes to land in their controlled territory.

“After all, the aid intended for the insurgents, completely coincidentally dropped from these planes on the outskirts of Warsaw, ended up in the hands of the Germans,” she wrote.
“Shame and disgrace. I apologize, Ukraine at war, I apologize,” Dzwonkiewicz added.

On 20 February, Polish protesters completely blocked the movement of freight transport to Poland and Ukraine at six border crossings for the entire day. At several crossings, there were also delays in passenger transport. The protesters reportedly had allowed one truck to enter Poland every hour and three trucks to enter Ukraine every hour. Movement of trucks is completely blocked only at the Medyka-Shehyni crossing point.

On 6 November 2023, Polish carriers began blocking truck traffic at three border crossing points.
On 23 November 2023, Polish farmers joined the border strikes for a short time, protesting at the Shehyni-Medika checkpoint.
On 16 January 2024, Polish truckers suspended their blockade on the Polish-Ukrainian border until 1 March.
On 9 February, Polish farmers started a nationwide strike, resuming the border blockade. The protest is set to continue at least until 10 March.

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