The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian War on Poland

Abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has fundamentally changed the security environment in Europe, especially the security of countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Although Poland had not previously considered the escalating armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine to be a long war, Polish society and the Polish political elite have clearly emerged as one of the main European supporters of Ukraine. Poland has taken in the largest number of Ukrainian refugees, has become the biggest supporter of Kiev after the Baltic and Scandinavian countries in terms of GDP, and has repeatedly exerted political pressure to ensure that the EU states and the US Congress provide Ukraine with more and better aid. Our study shows how the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022 affected Polish society and Polish politics in its relations with Ukrainians and Ukraine, and with the Russia that attacked them, and how the war triggered actions from Poland.