Mateusz Morawiecki, Petr Fiala and Janez Janša meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. The trip has been coordinated with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The heads of government of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia plan to travel to Kyiv today, Tuesday, for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A train carrying Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, his deputy Jarosław Kaczyński, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Slovenian counterpart Janez Janša have already crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border and are on their way to Kyiv, a government spokesman in Warsaw said on Tuesday. The heads of government are said to have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border on the train in the morning.
Visit to signal EU support
The decision for such a visit had already been made at the summit of EU heads of state and government in Versailles, France, on Friday, and the government in Warsaw prepared it in the strictest secrecy. The visit was coordinated with EU Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The current situation in Ukraine
The trip has a model: in 2008, then President Lech Kaczyński flew to Tbilisi with the then Presidents of Lithuania and Estonia, Valdas Adamkus and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, and the Prime Minister of Latvia Ivars Godmanis to demonstrate against Russian aggression in Georgia. The Ukrainian President at the time, Viktor Yutschschenko, also accompanied the trip.
At that time, NATO had just denied Georgia the contribution process. The five heads of state saw the military alliance’s decision as encouragement for Russian aggression.
The Ukrainian capital has been shelled since the Russian war of aggression began on February 24. “The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wrote on Twitter. Fiala stressed that a wide package of support for Ukraine and its citizens will be presented during the trip. The international community was informed about the visit via the United Nations.
According to Ukrainian sources, civilian targets are repeatedly being destroyed by Russian fire in Kyiv. The civil defense said it was only on Tuesday morning that a total of four residential buildings were attacked in several districts. At least two people were killed. Moscow insists on only targeting military targets.
