Poland backs transfer of legacy equipment to Ukraine after modern acquisitions arrive

Polish President Andrzej Duda supports the provision of old weapons to Ukraine after his country switches to new ones, he said in an interview with Super Express.

This statement was made against the background of the recent claim by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that Poland is allegedly no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine.

The next day, Duda stood up for Morawiecki, saying that the prime minister's words were "taken out of context."

"I took the Prime Minister's statement quite differently. Perhaps because I myself recently spoke with him, among other things, about the transfer of equipment to Ukraine. We both said that there is no question of transferring the new equipment that we now we buy, for example, K2 howitzers or K9 tanks," Duda explained.

According to the president, the new weapons, as Morawiecki said, will be used to strengthen the Polish army.

"We are not spending billions in order to suddenly give it away. But this does not mean that we will not transfer weapons to Ukraine at all. When the old equipment is replaced with modern ones, I do not see a problem in transferring it to the Ukrainians," said Duda.

On September 20, Morawiecki said that Poland no longer provides Ukraine with any weapons of its own production, because now "we are arming ourselves with the most modern weapons." However, at the same time, Poland "definitely will not risk the security of Ukraine, the transfer of weapons from other allies is still taking place and has not been disturbed in any way," the politician emphasized.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland was "surprised" by the Prime Minister's statement, as he allegedly "did not have it approved by their department."