Polish President's visit to Ukraine: Poland asserts itself as a fervent supporter of kyiv

Lviv, January 11, 2023: hug from Ukrainian and Polish presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Andrzej Duda.

AFP - HANDOUT

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

The first European heavy tanks sent to Ukraine will undoubtedly be Polish, if ever Germany, a country that manufactures the famous Leopard tanks, validates this initiative.

This is the announcement made Wednesday in Lviv, western Ukraine, by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who met his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, along with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.

In Europe, initiatives are multiplying with a view to supplying tanks to the Ukrainian army, in fear of a new massive Russian offensive at the end of winter.

And the Warsaw government is on the move, which earned Andrzej Duda, Wednesday, ovations and a walkabout in the streets of Lviv.

Advertising

Read more

With our correspondent in Kiev,

Before heading back to Warsaw on Wednesday evening, 

stopped for a few minutes in Lviv Market Square… Very quickly, the Polish head of state was surrounded by a crowd of Ukrainians who chanted his name, took his hand, kissed him, thanking him in Polish.

And for good reason: Andrzej Duda announced yesterday, Wednesday, that his country was going to deliver to Ukraine an entire company of Leopard-2s, i.e. a dozen German-made heavy tanks, insisting on the need for an international coalition to supply Ukraine as soon as possible the heavy armor it needs to thwart a Russian offensive... 

It remains to be seen whether Berlin will join this movement, but Poland is increasingly asserting itself as Ukraine's main ally in Europe.

►

: Poland wants to deliver tanks to Ukraine and tries to convince Germany

Even more: for ten months, the war has accelerated the process of political rapprochement between Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania, countries that have long been part of the same geographical and historical group.

Ukrainians are immensely grateful to Poland for its financial and military support, as well as for

.

Andrzej Duda's walkabout in Lviv shows that a real political and human community is being born between these two allies.

A new geopolitical pole in the East of the European continent.

►

Faced with the war in Ukraine, Poland is spending record sums to renew its defense

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Ukraine

• Poland

• Defense