Poland Changes Ambassador to Ukraine Amid Cooling Relations With Kiev

WARSAW (Sputnik) - Poland has appointed a new ambassador to Ukraine, the country's foreign ministry stated on Wednesday, against the backdrop of relations straining with Kiev.

"FM [the Polish Foreign Ministry's head] Rau Zbigniew handed out 4 ambassadorial nominations today: Jaroslaw Guzy will be the Polish Ambassador to Ukraine," the ministry's statement on X, formerly known as Twitter read.

Thus, the diplomatic mission of Bartosz Cichocki comes to an end. During his tenure, Cichocki was known for being the only ambassador of an EU member state to stay in Kiev at the onset of military conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022.

The newly nominated Ambassador Guzy studied at Yale University, interned in the US Congress and served as an adviser to the Polish defense minister in the 1990s.

Poland-Ukraine relations have deteriorated significantly in recent months over an influx of Ukrainian grain into the European Union. Poland, alongside Slovakia and Hungary, unilaterally extended a ban on duty-free Ukrainian grain imports after EU-imposed curbs lapsed on September 15.

Kiev viewed the decision as unlawful and would soon introduce an embargo on a number of Polish agricultural products in response, Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka said. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, in turn, vowed to expand the list of Ukrainian products whose import is banned.