Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has been a staunch ally of its southeastern neighbor. Now, cracks are beginning to show in this previously strong relationship.

"In Ukraine, the view of Poland's role is becoming increasingly negative," says Polish Ukraine expert Krzysztof Nieczypor of the Center for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Warsaw.

Nieczypor has just returned from a trip to Kyiv, where he has, among other things, been taking the temperature of Ukrainian attitudes to Poland.

"In the press coverage in Ukraine, our country is seen as being on a par with Hungary and Slovakia, in other words with countries that are skeptical about the accession of Ukraine to the EU and military support for the country," he told DW.

Nieczypor is convinced that Poland's current negative image in Ukraine is the fault of the embargo on Ukrainian grain imposed by Poland's outgoing PiS government and the ongoing blockade of border crossings by Polish truckers.

"Above all," he says, "the situation at the border between the two countries is seen in a negative light because the Polish transport companies' protests are blocking the transportation of all goods - including fuels - which are of huge importance for the functioning of the state."