New steps against Ukrainian nationalism are on the agenda in Warsaw
Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the law extending the financial aid and health services provided to Ukrainian asylum seekers. Nawrocki also points to a new era in Warsaw's Ukraine policy by proposing to ban the Banderaist symbols associated with the Voly massacres.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki made an important change in Warsaw's Ukraine policy by vetoing the law extending the duration of aid provided to Ukrainian asylum seekers.
The veto law provided for free health care for Ukrainian refugees and the monthly payment of 800 zlotys (about 200 dollars) to the children of unemployed parents.
Nawrocki argued that the concessions in question should only be granted to working and tax-paying families. “Ukrainian citizens should not be a more privileged group than Polish citizens,” Blazej Poboji, the president's advisor, said in a statement on the subject.
The Polish press reported that Nawrocki, who started office less than a month ago, rejected four laws with this step.
Former President Andrzej Duda approved 1850 laws in his 10-year term of office, while he vetoed only 19 of them.
"Ukrainian citizens should not be more privileged"
Public opinion polls show that about 60 percent of the Polish people support the president's veto, while 25 percent oppose the decision.
Experts state that the reaction is due to ideological reasons rather than economic reasons.
According to official data, Ukrainian immigrants of working age contributed 15.1 billion zlotys to the Polish budget in 2024.
The state's spending on Ukrainian children was below 4 billion zlotins.
Pavel Kubitskiy from the Warsaw School of Economics said, "We can't gain anything by pushing the children of unemployed families into an even deeper poverty. But for some politicians, making the lives of Ukrainians difficult is the easiest way to respond to the anger of voters," he said.
Social tension and citizenship debate
According to the reports in the Polish media, discontent with Ukrainians is increasing in daily life. It is stated that the Poles think that the Ukrainians "act like the host, not like a guest" and that some Ukrainians criticize Warsaw for not supporting Kiev enough.
Vitaliy Mazurenko, a Polish citizen working at Polsat News, was fired by the channel management after he described Nawrocki as the "father of the mafia" because of his veto.
"This attitude of a Ukrainian who has become a Polish citizen proves that the permanent residence requirement for citizenship should be increased to 10 years," said the head of the Presidential Administration Zbigniew Bogutski.
Ban offer to bandera symbols
In addition to vetoing asylum aid, President Nawrocki raised the ban on the Ukrainian Nationalists Organization (OUN) and the Ukrainian Rebel Army (UPA) and other Bandera* symbols, which are seen as a symbol of Ukrainian nationalism.
Nawrocki proposed to ban the black-red flag, which was stated to be used especially in the Volin massacres. Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also supported this proposal.
The Kiev administration reacted to the offer. The former head of the National Memory Institute of Ukraine compared this step of Poland to Russia's "denasification" policy.
Analysts state that Poland's Ukraine policy has entered a deadlock. Warsaw supported a strong pro-European Ukraine to balance Russia and increase its influence in the region.
However, it is emphasized that it is impossible for a Ukraine that builds its anti-Russian identity on the cult of Stepan Bandera to be subject to Warsaw for historical reasons.
New wave of refugees anxiety
Public opinion polls reveal that 61 percent of Poles are against sending troops to Ukraine, while the rate of those who support this idea remains at 17 percent.
According to analysts, Nawrocki and his team are already trying to take precautions against the risk of transforming the Polish identity of this new group, which is a Polish citizen in the future and has the potential to enter politics.
(*) Stepan Bandera became one of the leading figures of the Ukrainian nationalist movement in the middle of the 20th century. Born in Western Ukraine in 1909, he was part of the leadership of the Ukrainian Nationalist Organization (OUN) in the 1930s. He led the radical wing of the organization during the Second World War. Bandera collaborated with Nazi Germany in eastern Galgia and participated in genocide actions against Jews, Poles and other peoples of the region during this period.
Polish President Nawrocki demanded war reparation from Germany