Poland is planning to take on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa to transport grain. Polish Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Michal Kolodziejczak said in a statement that Poland should acquire a section of Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa for export purposes.
The Odessa port was founded by the Russian Empire in 1794 on the site of a Turkish fortress. The port is crucial for exporting grain, corn and sunflower oil throgh the Black Sea globally. Recently, the US brokered the Black Sea Deal between Russia and Ukraine, which allowed Ukraine to export its grain through the Balck Sea corridor. In exporting Ukrainian grains, the port of Odessa plays a vital role due to its positioning in the Black Sea.
On Friday, the Deputy Minister of Poland told Polsat News, “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?”
He further added, “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.”. Kolodziejczak proposed that the Odessa port could be used to export grain from southeastern Poland.
The deputy minister also 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 feared that if Ukraine joined the EU, its citizens should be banned from investing in Polish agriculture for 10 years. Notably, Kyiv has applied to join the bloc in February 2022. At the same time, the EU formally launched the joining negotiations in December 2023.
Russia has regularly targeted the infrastructure of the Odessa port and has claimed it was being used by the Ukrainian army to attack seaborne kamikaze drones.
In July 2022, Russia and Ukraine achieved a UN-backed agreement to allow grain ships to safely depart from Ukrainian ports. However, Moscow withdrew from the agreement in 2023, accusing the West of failing to relieve sanctions on Moscow.
The Kremlin stated last month that it would return to the agreement if the West lifted restrictions on Russian banks and companies involved in food and fertilizer exports.
Poland, a supporter of tougher sanctions against Russia, is looking to have its own share in Ukraine in the form of crucial port access. After Trump’s return to the White House, the US has taken a completely different position from the previous Joe Biden regime. Trump has instead been pushing for a mineral deal to end the Russia Ukraine war. On the other hand Russia will not cede the Ukrainian territories it has claimed as it’s own now. Hence, the fate of Ukraine looks precarious, Poland’s latest statement confirms that Warsaw too wants in on the spoils as all nations involved look for their own profits from the destruction of Ukraine.
