Prof. Aleks Szczerbiak, a political scientist at the University of Sussex, made the assessment in an interview with the Polish state news agency PAP, published on Wednesday.
The British academic said that over the past year, UK media have been carrying extremely favourable articles about Poland practically every week.
British news outlets have covered Poland’s support for refugees from war-torn Ukraine, the country’s rise as a European military power and its fast-expanding economy, as well as encouraging the British people to visit Poland, he added.
According to prof. Szczerbiak, after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland came to be viewed as Kyiv’s great ally, leading the way in providing both military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and welcoming millions of its refugees.
The UK political scientist said that Poland’s role in Ukraine had begun to shape the way the country is perceived in Britain.
Prof. Szczebiak added that Poland had also been proven right in its warnings about Russia, which has strengthened the position of Warsaw and the entire eastern flank of the NATO alliance.
Thanks to all these factors, UK media commentators have been describing Poland as a growing regional superpower, while the British Foreign Ministry has identified Poland as one of the countries with which it would be worthwhile to strengthen bilateral ties, prof. Szczerbiak said, as quoted by the PAP news agency.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 518 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: PAP