Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should focus on the matters of Ukrainians, not the Polish presidential election, said former Polish Prime Minister and opposition party PiS member Mateusz Morawiecki in a radio interview.
He commented on Zelensky’s reaction to the statement of Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki, who said he would not see Ukraine in the EU and NATO without a solution to the Volhynia massacre. Zelensky stated in an interview with Polish media in Warsaw that, “If Ukraine is not in the EU and NATO, if Ukraine does not have security guarantees, then Mr. Nawrocki should already begin training, because it may turn out that he will have to take up arms to defend his country along with his fellow citizens.”
The Polish opposition believed that Zelensky was intervening in the election process and supporting the candidate of the ruling Civic Coalition, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski. Morawiecki emphasized, “He has the right and even the duty to take care of the interests of his country, but here we decide who the candidate is and what opinions they have on the most fundamental issues.”
Another PiS Sejm member, Janusz Kowalski, wrote on his social media page that “Zelensky is boldly taking part in the election campaign in Poland, supporting Rafał Trzaskowski, a pro-German candidate, and attacking Karol Nawrocki, a Polish politician who defends Polish interests.”
PiS member Sebastian Łukaszewicz called on the Ukrainian leader to apologize to Nawrocki and “finally clarify the issue of the Volhynia massacre.”
The Polish presidential election is scheduled for May 18, 2025. The current head of state, Andrzej Duda, has been in office for two consecutive terms, and the law no longer allows for re-election. The current candidates include Nawrocki, Trzaskowski, the founder of the “Poland 2050” party Szymon Hołownia, Sejm members Sławomir Mentzen and Marek Jakubiak, actor Jacek Murański, and journalist Krzysztof Stanowski.