The Role of the Republic of Poland in Regional Coalitions Supporting Ukraine (2022–2025)

Abstract

The article analyzes the role of the Republic of Poland in the formation and functioning of regional coalitions supporting Ukraine in 2022–2025. The aim of the study is to clarify Poland’s place within the system of regional support for Ukraine, identify the main coalition formats involving Poland, and examine the practical mechanisms of Polish coalition policy during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. The methodological framework is based on qualitative methods of political analysis, including the examination of official documents, joint declarations, governmental statements, EU institutional decisions, elements of process tracing, and comparative analysis of selected regional cooperation formats. The main focus is placed on the Lublin Triangle, the Bucharest Nine, Poland’s interaction with Baltic and Nordic partners, as well as broader European coalition mechanisms. The study argues that in 2022–2025 Poland played one of the key roles in regional support for Ukraine by combining the functions of a political initiator, a regional integrator, and a functional hub. At the initial stage of the full-scale war, the mobilizational dimension of Polish policy prevailed, while later the military-logistical and coordination dimensions became more prominent, particularly in connection with the transit of assistance, the training of Ukrainian military personnel, and the linking of different subregional cooperation formats. The article also shows that Poland not only participated in existing coalitions but acted as a connecting link between the Central European, Baltic, Nordic, and broader European security spaces. At the same time, its coalition role had clear limitations caused by domestic political cycles, disputes over agricultural imports, border crises, and rising socio-economic tensions. The article concludes that Poland remained a major regional actor in supporting Ukraine, although the sustainability of this role depended on its ability to balance strategic security priorities with domestic political and economic constraints. A promising area for further research is a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of particular regional support formats for Ukraine and the impact of electoral cycles and sectoral conflicts on the stability of coalition interaction.