From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, Poland actively helped Ukraine in the fight against the invaders. And on February 23, when the approach of war was already in the air, Presidents Andrzej Duda and Gitanas Nauseda arrived in Kyiv.
They came to express support for Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky. He spoke about this in broadcast of the telethon Andrzej Duda, writes 24 Channel.
To the topic Nothing could be done, there was only hope – Duda on the inevitability of war in Ukraine
Meeting on the eve of a full-scale war
According to him, the thought flashed through his mind that he was probably seeing the President of Ukraine for the last time. That evening, Zelensky himself shared this assumption. And then he added that he would not leave Ukraine and would be here until the end.
Yes, there was an opinion, I confess that I see him, perhaps for the last time. Yes, there was a moment when we said goodbye and I got goosebumps when, by the way, he himself said that this could be our last meeting,
Andrzej Duda shared.
Then no one knew what would happen in the future and what the scale of Russian aggression would be. However, the Polish president emphasized that even at that dangerous moment, he and his Lithuanian counterpart wanted to be close to Zelensky and wanted to show that “we are with Ukraine and we have always been with Ukraine.”
Duda constantly supports Ukraine
According to the President of Poland, the meeting with Zelensky a couple of months later in April was warm and touching. After that, he visited Kyiv several times and helped Ukraine in any way he could.
He assured that he is in constant contact with the President of Ukraine. Therefore, when Zelensky turns to him with a request for help, he always tries to do it within his capabilities.
“When he tells me that there are some needs, I try to satisfy them. If I can do it, then it is within our Polish competence. If this requires wider negotiations, then I just conduct these negotiations, turn to him, I’m trying to support Ukraine and I’m trying to support him as a person who, from my point of view, leads this defense of Ukraine as the president of the state,” Andrzej Duda said.
Military aid from Poland: latest news
- Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that his country is ready to provide Ukraine with MiG-29 fighters. However, since there are few modern fighters in his state, Poland may be only part of a much larger coalition led by the United States.
- Also, soon Poland will send modern tanks to Ukraine, which will help to resist the aggression of the Kremlin. Andrzej Duda noted that the period of 1-2 months is “completely realistic”.
- On February 13, it became known that Poland had transferred more than 200 post-Soviet T-72 tanks to Ukraine. However, it plans to deliver another additional upgraded 60 T-72 and PT-91 Twardy tanks, as well as another 14 Leopards.
