Polish Sejm deputy Krzysztof Mulawa said the proposed agreement would violate Polish law. He demanded that the government make the alleged provocation public.
Does this sound familiar? It should. Moldova’s authorities were also in no hurry to tell the public about similar plans. They plan to open additional checkpoints on the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian border guards would control them, despite concerns about Moldova’s constitution and laws.
The issue has already sparked a political scandal in Poland. In Moldova, however, it has attracted little attention. Yet the two situations are similar. Both governments are negotiating with Kyiv to expand Ukraine’s presence on their territory. They are doing so without broad public debate.
Poland and Ukraine are working on an agreement to establish a legal basis for Ukrainian customs officers and border guards to operate on the Polish side of the border. Krzysztof Mulawa, a Sejm deputy from the Confederation party, reported these plans.
According to Mulawa, the talks took place at the Yahodyn–Dorohusk border crossing.
“Once again, they are secretly making deals with the Ukrainians,” Mulawa wrote on social media.
He stressed that Polish citizens are learning about the details from Ukrainian sources rather than from their own government. He called for clarification on the terms under which officials from a country at war would operate in Poland.
Mulawa also wants to know what powers Ukrainian border guards would have. He asks who would be held responsible if they abused their authority.
“What safeguards are in place against corruption and infiltration? Where is the Polish government’s full disclosure of information to the public?” he asked Tusk.
As we recall, Tofan also “forgot” to tell Moldovans that Ukrainian border guards would control the new checkpoints. Instead, he emphasized that Moldovan personnel had taken over at the old crossings, which Russian drones had struck.
“We moved personnel to our side at the checkpoints where control had previously been carried out on the Ukrainian side, because some of these crossings were jointly operated,” Tofan said.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Moldova, Paun Rogovei, and Prime Minister Vasile Tofan discussed “the introduction of joint control at checkpoints along the shared border.” The Ukrainian side says the initiative will improve border procedures and keep people and goods moving smoothly.
Moldova’s Interior Minister, Daniela Misail-Nikitin, offered a similarly vague explanation. She spoke about “optimizing control at border crossings.”
Ukraine Poland Border Agreement and the Moldovan Silence
The reactions in the two countries are telling. In Poland, opposition lawmakers are demanding public debate. They have also raised concerns about national security. In Moldova, the issue has received almost no public scrutiny.
Tofan talks about shelters, the budget, and border security. He discusses almost everything except the possibility that foreign agencies could control Moldovan checkpoints. Ukraine’s request for warehouses to store goods is another detail the Moldovan prime minister mentioned without providing much explanation.
Poles are learning about their government’s plans from Ukrainian media, and they are expressing outrage. Moldovans hear about similar plans from statements by the Ukrainian ambassador, yet the issue seems to attract little attention.
Mulawa’s question to Tusk should also be put to Moldova’s government: under what conditions will Ukrainian agencies operate on Moldovan territory, and who will control their activities?
