Latest news with #PolishFarmers
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Ukraine turns on Poland over WW2 massacre commemoration
Ukraine has criticised Polish plans to establish a remembrance day for Poles massacred by Ukrainians during the Second World War. Poland's parliament this week approved a new public holiday on July 11 to commemorate victims of a 'genocide' committed by Ukrainian nationalist groups during the conflict. The date marks what Poles call 'Volhynian Bloody Sunday', when a 1943 operation by Ukrainian death squads killed thousands of civilians in settlements across the Wolyn province, which is mostly now in Ukraine and known as Volyn. Ukraine's foreign ministry attacked the move, saying the decision to commemorate what it described as a 'so-called genocide' flew in the face of 'good neighbourly relations between Ukraine and Poland'. 'Poles should not look for enemies among Ukrainians, and Ukrainians should not look for enemies among Poles. We have a common enemy – Russia,' it said. It added: 'The path to true reconciliation lies through dialogue, mutual respect and joint work by historians, rather than through unilateral political assessments.' Volodymyr Zelensky has commemorated the massacre with the laying of wreaths, but labelling the killings a genocide continues to be a contentious issue between the two countries. Although Poland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers in its fight against Russia, relations have been strained due to rows over EU policies that favour Ukrainian agriculture. Polish farmers have picketed the Ukraine border to protest grain shipments being diverted from the Black Sea through Poland, a move, they say, which undercuts domestic produce. Brussels has also scrapped tariffs on Ukrainian grain, although this duty-free regime is set to end on July 5. One survey found over 80 per cent of Poles supported the farmers. Narol Nawrocki, Poland's new president, has also struck a more critical tone than his predecessor on support for Ukraine, saying Kyiv should not be admitted to the EU. Though the president's role is largely ceremonial, he has the power to veto legislation. An estimated 100,000 Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War in an attempt to ensure that Wolyn did not become part of postwar Poland. The Bloody Sunday attack was planned so that the death squads would surprise as many Poles as possible during the Sunday mass, according to the Second World War Museum in Gdansk. Several leading Polish politicians have signalled in the past that acknowledging the massacres as a genocide is a precondition for Poland to support Ukraine's future EU membership. 'We want Ukraine to develop, but we cannot leave unattended a wound that has not healed,' Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the deputy prime minister, said last year.
Russia Today
26-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Polish farmers call for Russian cucumber ban
Polish cucumber producers have called for a ban on Russian imports after data revealed that Russia became the nation's leading supplier in March, according to local media reports. Polish farmers claim that Russian producers benefit from lower energy costs, allowing them to sell products at cheaper prices. While overall Russian agricultural exports to the EU fell by 79% year-on-year in January 2025, shipments of fresh cucumbers from Russia rose sharply, according to Eurostat data. In Poland in particular, deliveries reached a four-year high in the spring. Lukasz Gwizdala, the operations director of the Polish Association of Tomato and Cucumber Producers, claimed last week that the influx of Russian cucumbers has disrupted the domestic market. He stated that Polish farmers have urged the government to ban imports of the vegetable amid record supply levels. Over 2,000 tons, worth €2.7 million ($3.07 million), entered Poland in March – 2.5 times more than in February and 25% higher than in March 2024, RIA Novosti reported last week, citing Eurostat data. The export value was the highest since March 2021, when sales reached €3.1 million. Of the €3.25 million Poland spent on cucumber imports in March, 83% came from Russia, making Poland the leading EU importer of Russian cucumbers, the figures showed. Polish farmers argue they are facing unfair competition from Russian producers, as heating greenhouses to grow tomatoes and cucumbers requires fuel, which has become significantly more expensive over the past three years. 'The Russians have access to their own energy resources, and as a result, lower production costs,' Gwizdala told the outlet. 'When they sell their products in Poland, we are dealing with unfair competition because we have limited access to cheap energy.' The EU has imposed multiple sanctions targeting Russian energy exports since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The restrictions have led to a rapid rise in energy prices and production costs for energy-intensive industries within the bloc, hitting various sectors including greenhouse agriculture. Gwizdala said his association is now in talks with the agriculture and environment ministries, pushing for an EU-wide embargo on cucumber and tomato imports from Russia and Belarus, with a decision possible within the next two months. Last year, Sergey Dankvert, head of Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, told RBK that lower gas prices make Russian greenhouse vegetables cheaper than those in the EU. He predicted that with costly US LNG, European products risk losing their competitiveness while Russian exports gain market share.
