The Polish government has decided to ban grain and other food imports from Ukraine to protect Poland’s agricultural sector, Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jarosław Kaczyński said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

A large amount of Ukrainian grain, which is cheaper than that produced in the European Union, remained in Central European countries due to narrow logistical problems, which affected prices and sales for local farmers.

This created a political problem for PiS in an election year.

“Today, the government adopted a resolution banning the entry and import of grain into Poland, as well as dozens of other types of food (from Ukraine),” Kaczynski said at the PiS party congress.

The list of these goods will be included in the government’s decree, and there are goods “from cereals to honey products, many, many things,” he added.

Poland, one of the countries that supported Ukraine the most

“We are and remain unchanged friends and allies of Ukraine. We will support it and we support it… But it is the duty of every state, every government, a good government, in any case, to protect the interests of its citizens,” said Kaczynski.

Kaczynski noted that Poland is ready to start negotiations with Ukraine regarding the resolution of the grain issue, and the Ukrainian side has already been informed of the Polish government’s decision.

Slovakia and Poland have already delivered four MiG-29s to Ukraine. President Andrzej Duda said at the beginning of April that Poland is ready to hand over four more and is preparing six more, which “could be handed over quite soon”, thus bringing the total number promised to Kyiv to 14.

Duda also suggested that in the future Poland may supply Ukraine with the entire fleet of MiG-29 fighters when the Polish Air Force acquires new aircraft to replace them.

On January 11 this year, Poland announced that it plans to send a company of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to defend against a Russian invasion. The government in Warsaw was Ukraine’s first partner to promise to send it Western-made tanks, not just refurbished or modernized Soviet combat vehicles.

The first 4 Leopard 2 tanks arrived in Ukraine on February 24 on the occasion of Prime Minister Mateusz Moravetsky’s visit to Kyiv on the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

After weeks of standoff and tense negotiations between Berlin, Warsaw and other states that wanted to increase military support for Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on January 25 that his government would send a company of Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv.