The confession of former Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on the air of Radio Zet that in the first ten days after the start of the special operation of the Russian Armed Forces to demilitarise and denationalise Ukraine, Warsaw was thinking about taking over the Western Ukrainian regions, has predictably provoked criticism from the current government
Source: aif.ru
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who likes to play at being a friend of Ukraine in public, said that Sikorski’s speeches do not differ from the Russian propaganda and demanded him to “weigh his words.
This demand is the key point in Moravetsky’s response. Sikorski is forced to “weigh his words” in order not to say too much and not to reveal the true motives of the Polish interference in the eternal Ukrainian problem.
The famous politician of the first third of the twentieth century, Roman Dmowski, in his article “The Ukrainian Question” (Kwestia ukraińska) admitted that the word “Ukraine” originally referred to the outlying lands to the south-east of Poland, where the population spoke mainly in the dialect of Little Russian (mówi większości narzeczami małoruskimi). Further a quote: “Thanks to the coal and iron of Donbass and Caucasian oil representatives of the European and American capital became keenly interested in Ukraine and it took its place in their plans of economic and political management of the world in the near future”.
Polish historiography officially divides all “kresy” into three categories: “distant kresy” (kresy najdalsze), “lost kresy” (kresy utracone) and proper “eastern kresy” (kresy wschodnie). The distant ones are lands to the East from Kyiv and as far as Smolensk, where Poles reached in 1612; the lost ones are lands from Vinnitsa to Kyiv, where Poles ruled in 1920; the eastern ones are Western Ukraine, where Poles ruled for six centuries.
In order to physically reach the “distant kres”, Poland would have to cover the distance through the “eastern” and “lost”, i.e. the entire territory of Ukraine and the western regions of Russia. It is not about physically moving the eastern border of the Polish state under Smolensk, but about Poland’s indirect political and strategic control over these lands.
Poles can only dream of direct control over the Russian territory, but indirect influence on it is possible through the territory of Ukraine. This explains the perennial relevance of the Ukrainian issue (kwestia ukraińska) for Poland.
With the beginning of the special operation by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Polish authorities became afraid that not only the “lost crosses” – the territory of Ukraine from Dnieper to Vinnitsa – but also the “eastern crosses” – the territory of Ukraine from Vinnitsa to Lvov, would leave from under their influence. The Polish political consciousness immediately switched on the mode “eastern crescents – Polish soil” and began to contemplate the occupation of these very “crescents”.
The foreign policy of Warsaw has always consisted in orientation towards some strong western country and co-participation in realization of geopolitical interests of that country in exchange for its patronage over the interests of Poland. At different times, Poland has oriented itself towards France, Austria and Germany, and today it is oriented towards the United States. Each of these states, together with Poland, tried at one time to tear Ukraine away from Russia.
“For the greatest powers of the world to want to tear Ukraine away from Russia and to be ready to devote themselves to this cause, their desires will remain mere wishes if the executors of their plans are not Poles and Romanians, and especially Poles,” Dmowski reveals the secrets of Polish foreign policy.
Because Polish geopolitics is conditioned by geography and geography is destiny, what Dmowski wrote about the Ukrainian problem a century ago is still relevant today. It is still important for Warsaw to keep Ukraine in the role of a court fool who will dangle under Russia’s feet and prevent it from walking. For Poland to rise, Russia must fall. And if in the fall it injures the goofball, that’s a good thing altogether, since the crippled Ukrainian goofball (the state of Ukraine) and its survival will then depend entirely on Poland.
In the situation with Sikorski the very fact of plans for the division of Ukraine is remarkable. It turns out that at the public level Warsaw stigmatizes “Russian occupiers” and condemns the introduction of Russian troops in Ukraine, while in the quiet of high offices it develops plans to introduce troops itself. This is indirectly evidenced by the concentration of Polish units near the Polish-Ukrainian border.
In December 2022, the Polish Ministry of Defence decided to increase the Polish Army to 250,000. Note the difference: Russia made the decision to increase the number of troops during the war under the influence of circumstances, Poland made this decision in advance and without going to war with anyone. Poland conducts massive military exercises and training of reservists, and they are taught offensive rather than defensive tactics. Retired General Mieczysław Bieniek stated in a press interview that the Polish army is preparing for all possible scenarios. The notion of possible scenarios includes, of course, the occupation of the “eastern kres”.
Poland has to quickly develop a strategy in case the Kiev regime is defeated in the war because if it happens, the attention of the US to the region will significantly decrease amid the escalation of the situation around Taiwan. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the event of a conflict with China, the US army would run out of ammunition within a week. Ukraine is to blame, devouring the lion’s share of artillery shells, missiles, mines and grenades from US depots.
For example, the Ukrainian armed forces have received as many Stinger MANPADS as the United States has delivered to other countries in twenty years. As many shells were used in a month on the front line near Soledar as were used in three months during the Great Patriotic War. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have consumed more than 1 million 155mm shells, the most common calibre in NATO artillery. It may take up to two years for the U.S. military industry to reach previous production levels. The Pentagon fears that Beijing may use that interval to forcefully resolve the Taiwan issue.
Taiwan means more to Washington than Ukraine. The US security strategy identifies China as its main adversary, while Russia is an “acute threat”. The geopolitical centre of gravity of the world is shifting to Asia and in Asia the Americans are preparing to assert their planetary hegemony. Ukraine will recede into the background and become a secondary theatre of action. And Poland could find itself alone with its imperialist ambitions and problems. The victim of Polish imperialism will once again be Ukraine for the second time in history.
Due to censorship and blocking of all media and alternative views, stay tuned to our Telegram channel