Why is Poland jittery after Russia invaded Ukraine?

• As battles intensify for cities such as Kyiv, Russia may resort to the scorched early policy pursued in Chechnya – or what the US and its allies did in Iraq prior to the invasion
• While international sympathy and support for the beleaguered Ukrainians have been mounting, it isn’t clear yet just how much of the promised military aid has reached the besieged country

The war in Ukraine isn’t the walkover that Russian President Vladimir Putin was hoping for. Fierce Ukrainian resistance is demoralising Russian forces, the capital of  Kyiv hasn’t fallen. The rolling countryside may be easily traversed by Russian armour, but taking the cities will be hugely costly.

In World War II, Ukrainians and Russians fought desperate battles side by side on the same soil to stop the German invasion. Now, in a bitter and ironic twist of history, Russians are attacking Ukrainians to realise Putin’s goal of turning Ukraine in his fiefdom.

As battles intensify for cities such as Kyiv, Russia may resort to the scorched early policy pursued in Chechnya – or what the US and its allies did in Iraq prior to the invasion.

Even the Israeli army, hardly known to be civilian-friendly, has traditionally been extremely reluctant to attack Arab cities, except by air.

While international sympathy and support for the beleaguered Ukrainians have been mounting, it isn’t clear yet just how much of the promised military aid has reached the besieged country.
Poland said it has committed its MiG 29s to the Ukrainian cause. This doesn’t mean these Russian-built fighters are given directly to the Ukrainians. Rather, Poland has offered them to the US, which would then deliver them to the Ukrainians, while the Poles hope to receive serviceable US aircraft of similar capacity.

This looks like a swap. The Polish government in all probability may have decided to end its dependency on Russian military equipment in this scary post-invasion scenario.

Historically, Poles have reasons to fear Russia. Poland was part of the Russian Empire under the Czars. Composer Frederick Chopin incorporated Polish nationalist sentiment into his music. In the 20th century, Stalin and Hitler signed a pact and divided Poland into two. The infamous Katyn forest massacre of thousands of Polish army officers by the NKVD, Stalin’s secret police, took place just before World War II started. In 1944, when the Polish underground attacked German forces in Warsaw, they expected immediate Russian help as the Red Army was close to the city. But no help came, and the uprising was crushed. There is a theory that Stalin did this deliberately, as he wanted the Polish resistance leadership removed. 

In short, Putin’s short-sighted invasion has awakened old fears across Eastern Europe.  But Ukraine’s bid to fast track its attempt to join the European Economic Community has not been successful. This shows how hard-nosed Western Europe can be when it comes to money, despite its words of outrage about the invasion. Also, Putin has kept open a slender line of hope by keeping the negotiations alive. A key Russian demand is that Ukraine withdraws its request to join NATO. This is a reasonable demand and the Ukrainian president and his advisors should consider it, provided that Putin is able to reassure them that Russia would respect Ukraine’s independence. But as long as Putin keeps saying that there is no such country called Ukraine, this is not going to happen.
In the meantime, A campaign to save independent Ukrainian media from being wiped out is gathering pace, with thousands donating cash to support news outlets reporting on the conflict.

A GoFundMe page organised by a senior executive from the Kyiv Independent has raised more than $200,000 for national and regional titles struggling to survive the chaos of the invasion.

Funds are being earmarked to help journalists relocate operations from Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities under attack to Warsaw, Vilnius and other neighbouring capitals.  Initiatives are also underway to help secure funds for urgent immediate needs such as equipment, insurance and engineering support for websites, he said.
Around 12 national titles, including the Kyiv Independent and in-depth reportage news website Zaborona are part of the group that will benefit from funds raised. 

Public broadcaster Polish Radio began airing special news bulletins last week in Ukrainian in a direct response to the invasion. 

The long wave newscasts can be heard on Polish Radio 1 every day after 10 am and 5 pm, according to Polish Radio’s IAR news agency.

Every war has its unexpected ugly side, not necessarily between the combatants. As foreign workers and students desperately attempt to leave Ukraine, there are reports of Africans, Arabs and South Asians being attacked and harassed by racist elements in Poland.

Polish police have warned that fake reports of violent crimes committed by dark-skinned people fleeing Ukraine are circulating on social media after Polish nationalists dressed in black attacked non-white refugees.  Police said three Indians were beaten up and one had to be hospitalised.