Zelensky visits Poland to thank a staunch ally and to meet Ukrainian refugees
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda observed an official welcome ceremony in Warsaw on Wednesday, as part of a state visit of thanks for Poland’s support in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
WARSAW — Military honors, tributes and praise welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife to Poland on Wednesday as the couple made a visit meant as a gesture of thanks to Warsaw for its crucial support in Kyiv’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
The state visit to neighboring Poland is a rare foray for Zelensky out of Ukraine since Russia unleashed the war in February 2022. Although it follows trips to the U.S., Britain, France and Belgium, it stands out from those because it was announced in advance, without the secrecy of past visits.
It was also the first time that Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska traveled abroad together since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to Marcin Przydacz, the head of Polish President Andrzej Duda’s foreign policy office.
Duda awarded Zelensky Poland’s oldest and highest civilian distinction, the Order of the White Eagle, noting that it was given to outstanding people in Poland and in Poland’s international relations.
“We have no doubt that your attitude, together with the bravery of the nation, has saved Ukraine,” he told Zelensky.
At a welcome ceremony in the courtyard of the Polish presidential palace, while Duda, his wife and Zelenska were dressed in formal attire, Zelensky wore his signature dark sweatshirt and khaki trousers as a show of support for Ukraine’s fight.
During the Holocaust, a Ukrainian family hid a girl from the Nazis. Decades later, with Ukraine at war, her son and a community of strangers repay the kindness.
While Zelensky’s trips in February to London, Paris and Brussels were part of his push for warplanes and for European Union and NATO membership for Ukraine, and his visit to Washington in December was meant to shore up U.S. political support, the journey to Warsaw was intended primarily to thank a country that has been an international cheerleader for Kyiv, as well as a safe haven for Ukrainian refugees and a transit hub for Ukraine-bound humanitarian aid and weapons.
Duda said that his country has provided four Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, and that four more were in the process of being handed over and another six were being prepared.
Poland, lying on NATO’s eastern flank, feels especially threatened by Russia and has been one of the leading advocates for providing military aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky’s visit also shines a light on Poland’s rising international role in a new security order that is emerging amid Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Gleb Karakulov, an officer in Putin’s secretive personal security service responsible for secure communications, defected in October.
Poland, a member of NATO and the EU, is modernizing its military with orders of tanks and other equipment from U.S. and South Korean producers, while the United States has also beefed up its military presence in Poland.
Poland is also keen not to miss out on future contracts for the postwar rebuilding of Ukraine, which the World Bank has estimated could cost $411 billion.
Zelensky said Wednesday that his government would “extend a hearty welcome” to Polish businesses that want to help with Ukraine’s reconstruction, adding that he would sign agreements on the development of Ukrainian infrastructure projects during his visit.
Zelensky traveled through Poland on his other trips, but until now had not made Poland the focus. He was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, attend an economic forum focused on the reconstruction of Ukraine and meet some of his compatriots who have fled to Poland. Poland has been a key destination for Ukrainian refugees, particularly those who want to remain close because they plan to return or want to be able to visit loved ones.
The Ukrainian military’s surrender hotline, dubbed ‘I Want to Live,’ is enticing some Russian soldiers to quit the battlefield as the war drags on.
More than 1.5 million Ukrainians have registered with the Polish government since the war began, joining large numbers of Ukrainians who had arrived in recent years for work. The exact number of Ukrainians present in the country at any given moment is impossible to measure, especially with many going back and forth.
Zelensky’s visit also comes at a delicate time, with Polish farmers growing increasingly angry because Ukrainian grain that has entered Poland has created a glut, causing prices to fall.
The grain is meant to be stored and transited through Poland to international markets in North Africa and the Middle East. But Polish farmers say the grain is instead staying in the country, taking up space in silos and entering local markets, causing local prices to fall. Romanian and Bulgarian farmers say they are facing the same problem.
Przydacz acknowledged in comments to reporters that the issue has caused tensions and said it would be a topic of the talks Wednesday.
The U.S. will send Ukraine about $500 million in ammunition and equipment and spend more than $2 billion on an array of munitions, radar and other weapons.
The farmers’ anger is emerging as a headache for Morawiecki’s government ahead of general elections in the fall, particularly since his conservative ruling party, Law and Justice, gets much of its support in rural areas.
An hour before Duda was to welcome Zelensky, Poland’s agriculture minister, Henryk Kowalczyk, who has been the focus of the farmers’ anger, resigned from his post.
In Ukraine, the military authorities said Wednesday that Russian forces over the previous 24 hours had launched 47 airstrikes, three missile strikes and 42 attacks from multiple-rocket launchers.
At least four civilians were killed and 16 others wounded in that period, the Ukrainian president’s office reported.
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