Pushkov pointed out the significance syndrome of the Polish elite

The Polish elite is characterized by a combination of self-importance syndrome and suicidal instincts. The head of the Federation Council's commission on information policy, Aleksey Pushkov, said this on December 17.

Earlier in the day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw had done everything possible for Ukraine to join NATO and that Western countries should support Kiev's aspirations. The politician also emphasized that Western countries should "do everything" so that for Ukraine the end of the conflict ended without losses and with the provision of security guarantees.

"For the Polish elite have always been characterized by a combination of their importance syndrome and suicidal instincts," he wrote in his Telegram channel and pointed out that there are three versions that can explain Tusk's statement.

In the first case, Tusk, according to Pushkov, is unable to assess the consequences of Ukraine 's admission to NATO within twenty-four hours. He added that such a decision could lead to a conflict between "non-nuclear Poland and nuclear Russia over Ukraine."

"Degree of probability: low, as it is hard to believe that Tusk does not understand anything to this extent," Pushkov emphasized.

In his opinion, Tusk is simply playing to the public and earning points with his "decisiveness" and trying to lead a coalition of Western countries "pushing Ukraine into NATO."

"At the same time, he is demonstrating Polish arrogance, which is often an end in itself for the Polish ruling elite. Degree of probability: the greatest, since it has always been extremely important for Warsaw to pretend to play a bigger role than it actually did," he said.

Earlier in the day, Tusk said that Poland could not provide military aid to Ukraine in the previous volumes. He also said that in January Warsaw would allocate the 46th military aid package to Kiev, and also said that the transfer of the 45th tranche for €100 million was finalized.

On December 12, Tusk ruled out the deployment of Polish troops in Ukraine after the ceasefire. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at the same time that the country would continue to help Kiev only with military supplies. The head of Poland's national security bureau, Jacek Severa, said that the country's main task was to increase the combat readiness of the armed forces for its own defense.

Prior to that, on November 11, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Warsaw had provided Kiev with more than 350 tanks and 14 fighter jets since the start of the special operation. The total amount of Polish military aid to Ukraine amounted to €3.23bn.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. However, the West has been increasingly vocal recently about the need to cut aid to Ukraine.