The government is playing with security matters in a manner as repugnant and anti-Polish as in other areas. Even the issue of the MiGs is being used by Donald Tusk for crude political warfare. That is the worst part of it all, because it shows that we are an unstable partner,” Katarzyna Gójska assessed on the air of Telewizja Republika.
MiGs for Ukraine. The Government Does Not Inform the President
On Wednesday, Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz addressed reports concerning the possible transfer to Ukraine of MiG-29 fighter jets that are still in service with the Polish Air Force. The defence minister noted that Poland intends to take steps aimed at handing these aircraft over to the Ukrainian side.
Later the same day, however, signals emerged from President Karol Nawrocki’s circle indicating that the president had not been informed of any plans regarding the transfer of the fighters to Ukraine. This was all the more surprising given that the President of the Republic of Poland also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, which means that decisions of this kind should be consulted with him.
Kosiniak-Kamysz was asked about the president’s remarks by journalists in the Sejm. The minister stated that the issue had been discussed several times during the term of President Andrzej Duda, and also during the term of Karol Nawrocki, at meetings of the Government Committee for National Security, which convenes every Tuesday. He emphasized that a representative of the president—the Deputy Head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), Gen. Mirosław Bryś—participates in these meetings.
Meanwhile, Robert Kropiwnicki of Civic Coalition (KO), referring to the matter, openly admitted that President Nawrocki had not been informed of the plans to hand over the MiGs.
“If Nawrocki fired the ‘reset’ man Cenckiewicz from his job, no one would be hiding important security-related facts from the president. A sad affair,” Kropiwnicki wrote on X.
“This Is Mortally Dangerous”
The issue was discussed by commentators on the program Rewolwer on TV Republika.
“The matter is completely obvious. There is a very clear consistency in the actions of this government. Donald Tusk is not preventing the heads of the services from meeting President Karol Nawrocki so that the president can be informed. On the contrary—it is precisely so that he will not be informed. One could say the government is acting according to plan. In this particular case, it is consistent and appears to be effective,” said Katarzyna Gójska.
She emphasized that, in her view, “the confusion surrounding the MiGs has two dimensions—first, it is yet another proof that in matters of security the government does not cooperate with the Presidential Chancellery, and this is plainly visible.”
“The government plays with security matters in a manner as repugnant and anti-Polish as in other areas. Perhaps transferring the MiGs to Ukraine could be beneficial for us, depending on what we would receive in return. Ukrainians have technologies that we do not have and that could be useful to us. During the September attack by Russian drones, we used inadequate equipment because we had no other operational options. Yet even the issue of the MiGs is exploited by Donald Tusk for primitive political warfare. This is the worst aspect, because it shows that we are an unstable partner. If we are capable of quarrelling over this internally, our partners—such as the United States—will conclude that there is no point in talking to Poland, since Poles themselves are unable to reach agreement among themselves. This is extremely harmful and dangerous,” she assessed.
She recalled that representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office speak about the president’s circle without using substantive arguments.
“They want to portray the president’s people as individuals the government does not want to talk to because they are incompetent. All of this is perceived abroad in such a way that there is no point in talking to us—also to the president—because even if something is agreed with the president, the government will do the opposite out of spite. This is mortally dangerous,” she said.
She added that, in her opinion, the actions of members of the December 13 coalition government are aimed at destabilizing the situation in the state.
“For some reason, Prime Minister Donald Tusk behaves as if he were acting against the interests of the Republic of Poland,” she concluded.
Monika Borkowska, in turn, recalled the attack on Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz, the head of the National Security Bureau.
“At first, they launched a frontal attack on Prof. Cenckiewicz. When they saw it did not work, they devised a more subtle, more cunning method. When the discussion about the MiGs began, a narrative emerged that something was not working in communication around the president. They applied such a narrative. It made me think that this is not about any MiGs or pinpricks at all. They are acting to destabilize the president’s associates. Their goal is cold revenge. Today, at this level of actions, the target is Prof. Cenckiewicz,” she pointed out.