“I express opinions that Kyiv does not like”: what Nawrocki said about Ukraine

Even before Karol Nawrocki won the presidential election in Poland, gaining 50.89% of the vote, he had a reputation as a politician unfriendly to Ukraine. This was facilitated by his work as director of the Institute of National Remembrance. And during the campaign, this image only became entrenched.

The publication “Nova Polska” and EUalive’s partner media European Pravda have collected key quotes from the newly elected head of state about Ukraine, the war, and Polish-Ukrainian relations.

Accession to the EU and NATO

“I do not see Ukraine in any structure – neither in the European Union nor in NATO – until such civilizational issues important to Poles are resolved. A state that is unable to take responsibility for a very cruel crime against 120 thousand of its neighbors cannot be part of international alliances.”

(Background by EUalive: The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia were carried out in German-occupied Poland by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), with the support of parts of the local Ukrainian population, against the Polish minority in Volhynia, Eastern Galicia, parts of Polesia, and the Lublin region from 1943 to 1945. The UPA’s actions resulted in up to 100,000 Polish deaths. The Ukrainian government and institutions acknowledge the tragic events but frame them differently from Poland’s perspective, which officially recognizes the massacres as genocide.)

“Today, the discussion about Ukraine’s accession to NATO is completely inappropriate”.

“Ukraine’s accession to NATO would mean that the entire North Atlantic Alliance is at war with the Russian Federation.”

War with Russia and Russian propaganda

“We will continue to assist Ukraine in its war with the Russian Federation, which is also hostile to Poland. But in these relations we will always represent Polish national interests.”

“I have no doubt that it is the Russian Federation that is responsible for the war in Ukraine, but not only it, but also the naivety and stupidity of the political European elites and, unfortunately, their Polish assistant, that is, Donald Tusk.”

“As a future president, I would not send the army to Ukraine. However, I would gladly send Polish entrepreneurs to help the Ukrainian state, who could rebuild Ukraine’s potential if they were ready and willing to invest there.”

“My clear anti-communism and advocacy of the interests of the Polish state alone do not preclude critical words in this specific context of the exhumation in Volhynia or our relations with the Ukrainian state.”

“You can be an anti-communist who, after so many years of activity, does not need to prove that you disagree with the Russian narrative, and you can criticise relations with Ukraine even at such a dramatic moment as the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine, seeking the interests of the Polish state.”

“Of course, it would be absurd to say that I am pro-Russian. Russian propaganda has a tendency to try to use every word for the benefit of the Russian Federation.”

Polish-Ukrainian relations

“I have many reservations about Ukraine’s and President Zelenskyy’s own approach to Poland.”

“Ukraine does not treat Poland as a partner. It is ungrateful and behaves unworthy in many matters.”

“However, despite this, I believe that Ukraine should be at the negotiating table.”

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (at that time, Dmytro Kuleba) comes and says what he says – you heard, I won’t repeat it. President Zelenskyy comes, and it seems to him that he will elect the president of Poland. He won’t, because the president is elected by the Poles.”

“Poland was the main ally, the main assistant in the first months and years of the war, and President Andrzej Duda was the main advocate of the Ukrainian issue on the international stage.”

“If President Zelenskyy treated his main ally and partner this way – – then, I am afraid, today he is paying for it on the international stage (against the background of a statement by Donald Trump, in which he called Zelenskyy a” dictator”) . We see what opinions and assessments are being made about him because of his disloyalty to those who sincerely helped.”

Volhynia

“Our partner, whom we have helped so much, does not consent to the burial of our 120,000 women and men killed in Volhynia – this is unworthy behaviour towards us.”

(These words were said before the start of the first exhumation works, but after the Ukrainian side in November 2024 lifted the ban on the search and exhumation of the remains of Polish victims of war and conflicts on the territory of Ukraine.)

“Ukraine must understand that Poland is a free state that has its own political agenda. A state that has its own goals and obligations – in particular, to those who were killed by Ukrainian nationalists. Those who do not call for revenge, but ask for memory and a cross on their grave. This is exactly what the victims of the Volhynia genocide seek.”

“As the president of the Institute of National Remembrance, I unequivocally oppose Banderism – I am ready to sign a law that provides for punishment for Banderism and the so-called Volhyina lies”.

(Background by EUalive: Ukraine’s official position on Stepan Bandera, a prominent and controversial leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and associated with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), is one of recognition as a national hero for his role in the struggle for Ukrainian independence, particularly against Soviet oppression. However, this stance is nuanced due to his association with the controversial actions of the OUN-UPA, including the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia massacres, and is shaped by domestic political dynamics, historical reinterpretation, and Ukraine’s geopolitical relations, especially with Poland.)

“I make good-neighborly relations with Ukraine conditional on full consent to the exhumation of the victims of the Ukrainian genocide against Poles. At the same time, I declare that it is in the interests of our country to establish peace in Ukraine as soon as possible.”

Polish interests

“During this election campaign, you will probably hear more than once that I express opinions that the Kremlin, Kyiv, or Brussels do not like. This does not bother me at all. My only obligation is to the Poles. And what the propaganda in Moscow thinks about it or what Kyiv thinks about it is none of my business. My obligation is to Poland.”

“Polish citizens should have priority in queues at hospitals and clinics. Polish children should have priority in schools and kindergartens. We should cancel surcharges to Ukrainian and other pensions, and provide social benefits primarily to Poles.”

“When we see that Ukrainian grain is leading to the collapse of Polish agriculture, we have every right to react in this way.”

(Background by EUalive: Polish farmers have been protesting since late 2023 against cheap Ukrainian agricultural imports, which they claim flood the market and drive down prices, threatening their livelihoods, following the EU’s 2022 decision to waive tariffs on Ukrainian goods to support Kyiv after Russia’s invasion.)

Caption: Head of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and candidate in the 2025 presidential elections, Karol Nawrocki meets with local residents in Biala Podlaska, Poland, 30 May 2025. [EPA-EFE/Wojtek Jargilo]