Poland deputy minister eyes key Ukrainian port

Poland should acquire a section of Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa to transport grain, Polish Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Michal Kolodziejczak has said. 

“This is what I want to propose: Why don’t we talk to the Ukrainians about selling a wharf or leasing it to us for 50 years so that the Poles could have their own grain port?” the official told Polsat News on Friday. 

“Such a place could be found, for example, in Odessa, where Polish and European grain will be transported. This way, we will secure access to the Black Sea,” he added. Kolodziejczak suggested that the port could be used to export the grain from southeastern Poland.

The deputy minister said that he was “afraid” of Ukraine joining the EU “because we don’t know what will happen.” 

“If [only] we had this on a platter: 500,000 hectares in Ukraine for Polish breeding companies,” he added. Kolodziejczak argued that if Ukraine joined the EU, its citizens should be banned from investing in Polish agriculture for 10 years. Ukraine applied to join the EU in February 2022. The bloc formally launched accession negotiations with Kiev in December 2023. 

Russia repeatedly struck the infrastructure of the port of Odessa, which it said was used by the Ukrainian army to launch seaborne kamikaze drones. 

In July 2022, Russia and Ukraine reached a UN-backed agreement to allow a safe passage of grain ships from Ukraine’s ports. Moscow withdrew from the deal in 2023, accusing the West of failing to lift the sanctions on Russia. The Kremlin said last month that it would return to the deal if the West removed sanctions on banks and companies involved in food and fertilizer exports.

Russia and the US are currently discussing a maritime truce as a step towards a comprehensive ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.