Ukraine’s Vice Consulate in Rzeszów (southeastern Poland) is expected to begin operations as early as this autumn, while the opening of a Ukrainian consulate in Poznań (western Poland) remains an “optimistic forecast” for this year.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Bodnar shared these prospects in a comment to Ukrinform.
According to Bodnar, expanding Ukraine’s consular presence in Poland is a key priority, as the country currently has more than 70,000 Ukrainian citizens per consul. This growing demand has driven plans to establish additional consular offices.
The process of opening the Vice Consulate in Rzeszów, which will operate under the Consulate General of Ukraine in Lublin, is already underway.
“In Rzeszów, the city authorities have allocated premises, and we have designated an official to begin working there. We will assemble the appropriate staff, equip the vice consulate with the necessary technical resources, and I hope that by autumn, we will have a fully operational consular office,” Bodnar stated, noting that completing the necessary documentation will take several months.
He emphasized Rzeszów’s significance for Ukraine, describing it as a crucial hub for assistance and a key logistical center due to its proximity to the Ukrainian border.
According to Bodnar, the Vice Consulate’s jurisdiction will encompass several counties in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship and potentially part of the Lubelskie Voivodeship. He also stated that discussions with the Polish side would determine the precise scope of the new consular office’s authority, ensuring that the honorary consulates of Ukraine in Przemyśl and Tarnów retain their established competencies.
Regarding the opening of the Ukrainian Consulate in Poznań, Bodnar noted that approximately 150,000 Ukrainian citizens currently reside in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, underscoring the need for a dedicated consular office in the region. He affirmed that the consulate in Poznań would serve the entire Greater Poland Voivodeship.
Bodnar did not confirm whether the new consulate in Poznań would be housed in the former Russian Consulate General. He stated that he would soon discuss potential locations for the Ukrainian consular office with Poznań’s authorities
“The opening of the consulate in Poznań this year remains an optimistic forecast. However, there is a clear understanding of the necessary steps, responsibilities, and issues that need to be addressed,” the diplomat said.
Regarding the potential upgrade of the Ukrainian consulate in Gdańsk to a consulate general, Bodnar stated that the matter is “in the process of being resolved” and that a decision from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is expected in due course.
Currently, Ukraine has five state consular offices in Poland: consulates general in Lublin, Kraków, and Wrocław, a consulate in Gdańsk, and a consular section in Warsaw. Additionally, Ukraine operates nine honorary consulates across the country.
An estimated three million Ukrainian citizens may now be living in Poland, with nearly one million arriving since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As Ukrinform reported, at Poland’s request, the Russian Consulate General in Poznań was closed last year after its diplomats were recognized as undesirable in the country. At the time, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that if Ukraine applied to use the vacated property to establish its own consular office in the city, Warsaw would be favorable to it.
The Polish Foreign Ministry told Ukrinform that Warsaw has a positive attitude toward the opening of new Ukrainian consular offices in Poland.
Source: Ambassador of Ukraine comments on prospects for new consulates in Poland
