RT reported that the results of a recent public opinion survey show that many Polish people are against sending soldiers to Ukraine in the event that Kiev and Moscow reach a ceasefire.
Of the more than 1,000 survey participants in Poland, about 56% said they were certain or perhaps against the deployment of troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission. Only 10% fully support the plan, while 21% are in favor and the remaining 13% are still skeptical.
The survey was conducted by Radio ZET since the beginning of April and was released on April 24.
According to RT, part of Polish people's opposition to supporting Kiev stems from disruptions in the agricultural market, after the European Union (EU) lifted trade restrictions, causing cheap goods from Ukraine to flood in.
The peak was last year, when farmers' protests spread across the country. The Public opinion Research Center (CBOS) recorded that up to 81% of Polish people supported the protests.
This situation also caused a rift within the EU, as some governments, including Poland, ignored the bloc's regulations and unilaterally imposed import banking.
Dissatisfaction has also been deepened by tensions over the influx of Ukrainian refugees into Poland since the conflict with Russia broke out in 2022. Some Polish people believe that Ukrainian refugees depend on them and can cause security problems.
To reassure public opinion, last week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to put the interests of Poland above the interests of Ukraine. There will be no such thing as Poland showing solidarity while other countries profit from the process of rebuilding Ukraine. We will unite and make a profit from that, said Mr. Tusk.
On the other hand, the wave of Ukrainians evacuating to neighboring countries is also putting Kiev at risk of a serious labor shortage.
According to the European Commission (EC), as of January 2025, nearly 4.3 million Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection status in EU countries.
However, Ukrainian Unity Minister Aleksey Chernyshov said that only about 30% of those who left Ukraine were actually considering a return. Meanwhile, the country is facing the risk of a shortage of 3.1 to 4.2 million workers in the next 10 years.
Policewoman Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's Finance Committee, also warned that at least half of Ukrainians living in Western countries may not want to return to their homeland.
