Russian annexations: a "desperate and pathetic action", in the eyes of the Polish president
Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv on August 23.
AFP - DIMITAR DILKOFF
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Poland is worried about seeing its Ukrainian neighbor losing its territories to Russia.
After the illegal formalization of the annexation of four occupied oblasts, the Poles very quickly condemned this gesture on their borders.
They do not recognize newly joined regions.
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With our correspondent in Warsaw,
Martin Chabal
The decision to include the Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia in the Russian Federation does not pass in Poland.
For the president, Andrzej Duda, this "
desperate and pathetic action
" and a real "
defeat for those who naively believed in a compromise
" with the Kremlin.
Poland condemns RUS attempts to annex UA territory and will never recognize them.
We will continue to support the Defenders of UA until the aggressor is driven out.
Today's desperate action by the Kremlin is a defeat for those who naively believed in a compromise with RUS.
🇵🇱🤝🇺🇦
— Andrzej Duda (@AndrzejDuda) September 30, 2022
The opposition also totally rejects these annexations.
Bogdan Klich, former Minister of Defense of the Civic Platform party, compares the action of Vladimir Putin to that of Joseph Stalin.
Rosyjska kradzież ukraińskich terenów, nigdy nie może być uznana i zalegalizowana przez społeczność miedzynanarodową.
Co więcej, Zachód musi pomóc #Ukraina je odbić z rąk zaborcy.
Putin idzie drogą Stanina.
#Russia
— Bogdan Klich (@BogdanKlich) September 30, 2022
The annexation of these four oblasts to Russia is seen as a desire to prolong the war on Poland's borders.
For the Minister of Foreign Affairs, this is “
new proof that Russia is trying to aggravate the conflict
”.
►Read also: Russian annexations: Joe Biden promises to "defend every inch of NATO territory"
And to challenge Moscow's decision, the ministry affirmed its support for Ukraine.
It calls on the country to "
take all necessary measures to regain the territories temporarily occupied by Russia
".
Poland will continue to “
support the defenders of Ukraine until the aggressor is driven out
”.
And the Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki affirms it: Warsaw will not be “
intimidated
” by the actions of Russia.
Not even by the nuclear threat.
Ukrainians no more impressed than their neighbors
The Ukrainians are no more intimidated than the Poles.
The kyiv authorities promise to continue the counter-offensives to liberate all the areas still in the hands of Russian forces.
In the evening, in his daily speech published on social networks, Volodymyr Zelensky also welcomed the “
significant results
” recorded by the Ukrainian armed forces in the east of the country.
They partially encircle the strategic town of Lyman, in Russian hands, in the Donetsk region.
“
We must liberate all our lands, and this will be the best proof that international law and human values cannot be violated by any terrorist state, however insolent, such as Russia
,” said the Ukrainian president.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Zelensky had brushed aside the hand extended by his Russian counterpart: “
Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is the president of the Russian Federation.
We will negotiate with the new president.
»
A position shared by Nikolay Viknianskyi, adviser to the mayor of Odessa, in charge of humanitarian issues.
"
We are going to liberate our land with arms,
" he told RFI.
I can't imagine that we can negotiate with him.
»
Moreover, if we did, we would be harming the whole civilized world, because we are not only fighting for ourselves and for our freedom, we are also fighting for democratic principles, for the Charter of the United Nations, for the truth.
We cannot conduct negotiations, because if we did, we would give legitimacy to Evil, we would show that we can talk with Evil.
And to add: “
Putin can well say that the Moon and the Sun belong to Russia, we, we know full well that the Moon and the Sun belong to Humanity and that the Ukrainian land belongs to Ukraine.
We think he's a crazy dictator and that's why we don't care about any of that.
»
International Service,
Anastasia Becchio
►On the same subject: Russian annexations in Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky sweeps away Moscow's demands
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Andrzej Duda