Poland–Russia relations
Russian invasion of Ukraine
### Russian invasion of Ukraine

In the lead\-up to the [2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine](/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine "2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine"), Polish Prime Minister [Mateusz Morawiecki](/wiki/Mateusz_Morawiecki "Mateusz Morawiecki") warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to rebuild the [Russian Empire](/wiki/Russian_Empire "Russian Empire") and urged Europe to unite and prevent Putin from making his dreams reality. On 22 February, after Putin recognized the independence of the [Donetsk](/wiki/Donetsk_People%27s_Republic "Donetsk People's Republic") and [Luhansk](/wiki/Luhansk_People%27s_Republic "Luhansk People's Republic") regions of Ukraine, Prime Minister Morawiecki called the action "an act of aggression against Ukraine," and Polish leaders urged European powers to adopt strong financial sanctions against Russia. Morawiecki singled out Germany's [Nord Stream 2](/wiki/Nord_Stream_2 "Nord Stream 2") gas pipeline from Russia as "harmful and dangerous."

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine started, Poland, as one of the EU countries, imposed sanctions on Russia, and Russia added all EU countries to the list of "[unfriendly countries](/wiki/Unfriendly_Countries_List "Unfriendly Countries List")".

After the Russian invasion began on 24 February, Morawiecki tweeted, "We must immediately respond to Russia's criminal aggression on Ukraine Europe and the free world has to stop Putin."

On 26 February, the [Polish Football Association](/wiki/Polish_Football_Association "Polish Football Association") announced that it would not participate in a planned 24 March [2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying](/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification "2022 FIFA World Cup qualification") match against the Russia in Moscow. Poland joined other countries in spring 2022 in [declaring a number of Russian diplomats](/wiki/Diplomatic_expulsions_during_the_Russo-Ukrainian_War "Diplomatic expulsions during the Russo-Ukrainian War") *persona non grata*.

On 9 May, during [VE Day](/wiki/VE_Day "VE Day"), Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev was splashed with red liquid by Ukrainian protestors of the invasion, as he arrived at a Soviet military cemetery in Warsaw for wreath\-laying ceremony. The protestors prevented the Russian delegation from laying the wreath and shouted "murderers" and "fascists" at them, before the police escorted Andreev and his delegation away from the Soviet military cemetery. [Russian Foreign Ministry](/wiki/Russian_Foreign_Ministry "Russian Foreign Ministry") spokeswoman [Maria Zakharova](/wiki/Maria_Zakharova "Maria Zakharova") denounced the attack and called the protestors "young neo\-Nazis", and demanded Poland to organize without delay the wreath\-laying ceremony while providing complete security. [Polish Minister of Interior and Administration](/wiki/Ministry_of_Interior_and_Administration_%28Poland%29 "Ministry of Interior and Administration (Poland)") [Mariusz Kaminski](/wiki/Mariusz_Kaminski "Mariusz Kaminski") defended the protestors saying that their gathering was legal and claimed that the protestors' actions were understandable due to emotions of Ukrainian women present in the protests "whose husbands are fighting bravely in defense of their homeland".

A survey from June 22 noted that only 2% of Poles hold a favourable view of Russia, while 97% have an unfavourable opinion, which was the most negative views of Russia among all countries included in that international survey. The 2% view was a stark decrease from previous polls, which for the past two decades had about 20–40% of Poles expressing a favourable view of Russia.

In September 2022, [Poland](/wiki/Poland "Poland"), [Lithuania](/wiki/Lithuania "Lithuania"), [Latvia](/wiki/Latvia "Latvia"), and [Estonia](/wiki/Estonia "Estonia") decided to close entry for Russian citizens with [Schengen](/wiki/Schengen "Schengen") visas, including those issued by third countries.

In October 2022, the [Senate of Poland](/wiki/Senate_of_Poland "Senate of Poland") unanimously declared [Russia as a terrorist state](/wiki/State_terrorism%23Russia "State terrorism#Russia").[Polish Senate declares Russia "a terrorist regime"](https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/9766/Artykul/3060577,Polish-Senate-declares-Russia-a-terrorist-regime) (*[Polskie Radio](/wiki/Polskie_Radio "Polskie Radio")*)

On November 2, 2022, [Poland](/wiki/Poland "Poland")'s [Minister of National Defence](/wiki/Ministry_of_National_Defence_%28Poland%29 "Ministry of National Defence (Poland)") [Mariusz Błaszczak](/wiki/Mariusz_B%C5%82aszczak "Mariusz Błaszczak") announced the construction of a barrier along [the border](/wiki/Poland%E2%80%93Russia_border "Poland–Russia border") with the [Russian](/wiki/Russia "Russia") exclave of [Kaliningrad](/wiki/Kaliningrad_Oblast "Kaliningrad Oblast"), as Russia uses the border to illegally transport [African](/wiki/Africa "Africa") and [Asian](/wiki/Asia "Asia") immigrants to [Europe](/wiki/Europe "Europe").

Russia had failed to pay rent on a building in Warsaw and failed to vacate a building, despite a 2016 court order. After Poland took possession of these buildings Russia announced it would close the Polish consulate in Smolensk in July 2023\.


Will other countries join Poland in its response to the invasion?