President Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced that not only Ukraine, but also Poland has suffered losses due to the artificial blockade of the Ukrainian-Polish border. He hopes that the new Polish government led by Donald Tusk will successfully overcome this challenge.
Answering a question from a Polish journalist at the end-of-year press conference in Kyiv, the Head of State thanked Poland, Polish society and President Andrzej Duda for helping Ukraine from the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion.
"I believe we are brothers. You helped us as much as you could. That's a fact," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
"Do you know how Ukrainians feel about Poles? With great sympathy and love. Even when everyone in Ukraine saw that we had a conflict at the leadership level, Ukrainians began to defend you – not me, even though I was defending their interests. This is the life of neighbors, close people," the President added.
At the same time, he noted that grain exports were a matter of survival for Ukraine, as Russia had blocked the Black Sea, so our country could only export grain by land.
"I am defending the interests of my country during wartime. I said: "Just let us take it out". But we were not allowed. And it was wrong," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to him, from April to September 2023, the situation with the blockade of the border was very difficult, and the Ukrainian side lost part of the harvest and hundreds of millions of dollars. The President reminded that the European Union was against the blockade of Ukrainian grain exports.
The Head of State thanked Romania for supporting Ukraine and helping Ukrainian farmers survive.
"Poland has lost financially. We have built a railroad corridor through Moldova and Romania. We have built a corridor across the Black Sea," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
At the same time, the President noted that a new government had been formed in Poland after the elections, which could help resolve the situation at the border.
"I was in contact with President Duda, he congratulated us on our important holidays and vice versa, I addressed him. We have stabilized the situation. I believe that the new government will unblock (the border – Ed.). This blockade is artificial. We are ready for people in Poland not to suffer any losses, but we cannot politicize the issue of grain when everything is blocked... I had a conversation with Donald Tusk. I am grateful to him for his firm stance at the EU meeting. I believe that we will balance everything. I really believe and want to believe in it," the Head of State said.
