Ukrainian World Congress calls on Poland to shut border with Belarus and an EU-wide land and sea blockade of Russia

WARSAW – During a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda, Ukrainian World Congress President, Paul Grod, called on Poland to shut its border with Belarus so as to stop any transport of goods and to stop all economic cooperation with Russia. Mr Grod went on to stress that Poland should not only close the land border but also sea routes should be closed to Belarus and subsequently Russia. Mr Grod stressed that whilst Poland is ready to do this, in order for this blockade to be successful it must be EU-wide.  

Following the meeting in Warsaw, Mr Grod also confirmed that military assistance from Poland and other NATO member states was now finally arriving in Ukraine after being stalled for 2 weeks. President Duda and Mr Grod also discussed the refugee situation in Poland and the Polish President was thanked for Poland’s great effort and assistance with taking refugees from Ukraine. However Mr Grod also criticised humanitarian agencies for not pulling their weight and not doing enough for Ukrainians that are internally displaced. He said “International aid organizations are absent in Ukraine where they are needed most. We need them to immediately set up refugee camps and support for internally displaced people in Ukraine.” 

During their conversation, President Duda confirmed to Mr Grod that Poland is working on becoming independent of Russian gas and, by Autumn 2022, will have become entirely independent of it.  

Finally, issues surrounding propaganda and Russian disinformation in Poland were highlighted by the Polish President to Mr Grod. The Russian propaganda machine has been attempting to distort the history and relationship between Polish and Ukrainian people through fake news stories and targeted disinformation campaigns in Poland and this is something which Poland is working on combatting.  

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About the Ukrainian World Congress 

Over the past 55 years, UWC has been the voice of the global Ukrainian community.  Representing the interests of 20 million Ukrainians living more than 60 countries around the world, the UWC has been actively supporting human rights and democracy in Ukraine. UWC is recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization with special consultative status and has a participatory status as an international non-governmental organization with the Council of Europe. The UWC is calling on anyone who stands for freedom and democracy to join the #UniteWithUkraine campaign and donate today at www.unitewithukraine.com 

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