Ukrainian foreign minister Adrii Sybiha confirmed his country was seeking a €120 million loan to fund the purchase of Polish-produced weapons.
“Using this credit, we are ready to purchase products from Poland’s defence industrial sector,” Sybiha told Ukrainian state-run news agency Ukrinform on August 5.
That followed his meeting with Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski on August 1, held at the Polish minister’s private manor house in northern Poland.
Sybiha revealed that Ukraine wished to acquire Polish Piorun portable air defence systems and Krab howitzers, as both had already been tested on the battlefield in Ukraine and he praised their effectiveness.
In 2022, Pioruns were among the large quantities of military equipment Poland provided to Ukraine to help its eastern neighbour defend itself from Russia’s full-scale invasion and they were used in successfully taking down Russian aircraft.
The armaments have already been bought by Belgium, Estonia and Norway in a large export deal with these NATO states.
“Poland has great traditions in defence manufacturing, and we are open to acquiring this equipment,” Sybiha said, adding that with his Polish counterpart “we talked about a loan worth €120 million” for the purchase of the weapons.
The Ukrainian foreign minister also said in the future, the countries could discuss “co-production” in Ukraine and in Poland. He said that could be of mutually beneficial interest, as well as “a contribution to our common future”. Sikorski was yet to respond to Sybiha’s public remarks at the time of writing.
Poland has ramped up defence spending in recent years, becoming NATO’s highest spender in relation to the GDP and the bloc’s third-largest army.
Sybiha also told reporters his country was “looking forward to” a possible visit from Poland’s newly elected President, Karol Nawrocki.
“We have a strong interest in a dialogue between the leaders of our countries to be established as soon as possible,” he added.
The Polish opposition Conservatives (PiS )-aligned Nawrocki took a tough stance on Ukraine during his presidential campaign, stating at one point he “does not envision Ukraine in either the EU or NATO”. He also pledged to prioritise the rights of Poles over Ukrainian migrants.
He has also, though, pledged to continue Poland’s military support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression, in line with the consistent stance taken by his predecessor Andrzej Duda and PiS when that party was in office.
