But Szeptycki hasn’t been fired from the government and Tusk warned against comments that “embolden larger groups of people to feed xenophobia, contempt for people with different views, and contempt for people whose background does not fit the standards of pure Polishness.”
Tusk, whose centrist Civic Platform party is locked in a political struggle with Nawrocki and PiS ahead of next year’s parliamentary election, warned that the escalating dispute with Kyiv could undermine Polish-Ukrainian unity and ultimately benefit Russia.
Earlier this month, he called on Nawrocki and Zelenskyy to meet to iron out their differences, and warned: “Conflict serves Moscow’s interests. This is surely obvious to all of us.”
The rift between Warsaw and Kyiv reflects wider tensions involving hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who have made their home in Poland. Despite playing a key role in Poland’s economy, they have become a target for anti-immigrant and right-wing groups.
Tusk’s government has also begun phasing out some special wartime support measures for Ukrainians, tightening access to some social benefits, health care and accommodation.
Both the president and the government have signaled that unresolved historical disputes remain a major obstacle — on a par with contemporary topics involving agriculture, truckers and other issues — as Poland worries about the implications of allowing Ukraine into the EU.
Kyiv is trying to keep the dispute from poisoning relations with a key ally.
As Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told a press briefing on June 10: “The historical dimension is not for politics. We would very much like it to remain there, in the realm of historians.”