In the context of the war against Russia, Poland is a reliable ally of Ukraine, but recently there have been contradictions that cause concern. Analyst Oleksiy Kush believes that cooperation between countries is situational, as they compete in many spheres — from economy to ideology.
By the way, when I wrote before the war that a successful Ukraine is a terrible dream for Poland, many people did not believe me.
But this is a reality, since Ukraine and Poland are direct regional competitors: for labor resources, for investments, for European subsidies, even for the markets for goods.
Competitors for logistics flows, for the right to create a Central European gas hub.
For dominance in geopolitical constructions: the Three Seas, the Baltic-Black Sea arc (the concept of Ukrainian geopolitician Yuri Lypa).
Even for the right to rebroadcast his "Sarmatian" historical myth in Europe - the wall of Europe on the eastern border of Europe, which protects it from the "Asian hordes". And historical mythology often underlies the cliodynamics and economic development of a country.
Let us add here the core-narrative of two ideologies of nationalism, Polish and Ukrainian.
Polish nationalism is a post-imperial ideology, a myth about the first and second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, "from sea to sea." This is Charnetskyi of the 17th century, who said "don't leave a Rusyn for breeding" and Pilsudskyi with his "pacification" of Galicia and the destruction of the ZUNR.
And Ukrainian nationalism, anti-imperial and mono-ethnic in its essence: Bandera, OUN and UPA.
In general, if there is geopolitical competition, then here it is in its pure form.
This does not cancel situational interaction between the two countries. But even during the war, Poland can block the border and prevent Ukrainian grain from entering, raise the topic of the Volyn massacre, although this is clearly not the time now.
But Poland feels that Ukraine largely depends on its position in EU structures and just wants to "press".
In general, no one needs a strong and competitive Ukraine, neither Turkey nor Poland. Only Ukrainians need it.
