President Andrzej Duda has said Warsaw could shut down Rzeszow Airport, accusing NATO partners of acting as if it belongs to them
Polish President Andrzej Duda has threatened to shut down the country’s main transit hub for Western military aid to Ukraine, accusing Kiev and NATO of treating Polish infrastructure as if it were their own.
Warsaw has been one of Kiev’s strongest supporters since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. The airport in Rzeszow, located just 80km from the Ukrainian border, has served as a vital logistics hub. According to Polish and Western officials, between 80-90% of NATO and partner-supplied military equipment destined for Ukraine has passed through the facility, including weapons, ammunition, and vehicles.
However, speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Duda expressed frustration that Poland had not been included in key international bodies responsible for decisions on Ukraine aid delivered via Polish territory. He described the situation as a “scandal.”
“They [Ukraine and NATO] think that the airport in Rzeszow and our highways belong to them, as if they’re theirs. Well, they’re not. They’re ours,” the president said.
Duda insisted that if Ukraine and its Western partners continued to treat the use of Polish territory as a given, Warsaw could shut down the hub “for maintenance.”
“If someone doesn’t like it, we close it and goodbye,” he said. “Deliver [the aid] by sea, by air, I don’t know, drop it by parachute.”
He added that the issue was not limited to Ukraine, but reflected a broader imbalance in Poland’s relationship with the US-led military bloc. “We need to have the courage to speak with the Germans and Americans,” he insisted.
Russia has consistently denounced foreign military aid to Kiev, arguing it only prolongs the conflict without altering its outcome. Moscow maintains that the shipments also escalate NATO’s involvement and obstruct peace efforts.
Duda is scheduled to leave office in August and will be succeeded by Karol Nawrocki, a historian and head of the Institute of National Remembrance. Nawrocki has publicly opposed Ukraine’s potential accession to both NATO and the EU, arguing that the country is not ready and that full membership would carry unacceptable security risks. He has also condemned Kiev’s veneration of wartime nationalist figures linked to atrocities against Poles during World War II.
Following his inauguration, Nawrocki is expected to meet with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, but his administration is expected to adopt a more confrontational stance on bilateral relations and EU integration.
