In Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, during which the leaders had a productive and substantive discussion on a wide range of issues.
“First and foremost, I want to thank Poland – the Polish state and the Polish people – for their support for Ukraine both now, as we defend ourselves against Russia’s invasion, and throughout all the years since Ukraine restored its independence. Poland has been – and I very much hope will always remain – a reliable friend of Ukraine, and therefore of our entire region and all of free Europe,” the Head of State said.
The President outlined the situation in Ukraine – particularly in the energy sector and its restoration after daily Russian terror. The Prime Minister expressed his condolences to Ukrainians over Russian terrorist strikes on energy facilities and residential buildings, which have left people without heating, electricity, and water supply amid severe frost.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Donald Tusk, his team, and Polish society as a whole for providing Ukraine with energy equipment, first and foremost generators.
The leaders discussed energy cooperation and measures that can strengthen both Ukraine and Poland. In particular, they addressed the implementation of projects to develop the energy grids in both countries. The President and the Prime Minister count on productive work by their teams, especially at the level of the ministers of energy and finance.
“And when it comes to gas supplies to Europe, and to Ukraine in particular, Poland is already working with us on this, and we will expand this track by increasing LNG supplies,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.
A substantial part of the discussion was devoted to joint defense programs. The leaders spoke about Poland’s continued participation in the PURL initiative, Ukraine’s full participation in the SAFE instrument, and joint production. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Tusk signed a Letter of Intent on the joint production of defense materiel in Poland and Ukraine. These agreements will ensure the development of digital infrastructure, robotics, and unmanned systems.
“Together, we are preparing to produce drones – co-produce them with Poland – and this will happen, along with the production of other weapons. Our state has up-to-date expertise – probably the greatest at this moment, because we are going through a war – on which weapons actually work in modern warfare and what can truly help. These are precisely the kinds of weapons we must produce together to defend our countries and Europe,” the President emphasized.
“We will also continue working on further deliveries of weapons to Ukraine and assistance in the war against Russia. The forty-seventh package is already prepared. The forty-eighth is currently being prepared. We also discussed how to support Ukraine in terms of air defense. Immediately after returning to Poland, I will once again speak with my generals and with the minister of defense about how to support Ukraine as quickly and as effectively as possible in countering Russia’s aerial aggression,” Donald Tusk noted.
Separately, the leaders discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war. The President shared details about the work of Ukraine's negotiating team in Abu Dhabi in a trilateral format.
“We must bring this war to a real end – with reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. These are guarantees for the entire region. And most importantly, Russia must receive no reward whatsoever for its aggression. The war must end in a way that leaves Russia with no desire to launch this aggression again – against Ukraine or against other European states,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
According to the Head of State, Ukraine counts on Poland’s continued support for all EU pressure measures against the Russian Federation, including decisions to block Russian oil tankers and a strong 20th sanctions package.
“We are also grateful for Poland’s principled position on Russian assets: Russian assets must be used for protection against Russia and recovery after Russia. All decisions necessary to make this happen must be implemented. There is already a decision providing 90 billion in support for Ukraine over two years. We must also achieve results with regard to the full amount of Russian funds,” the President added.
In addition, the parties discussed the active participation of Poland and Polish companies in Ukraine’s recovery, as well as preparations for the international Recovery Conference, which will take place this year in Poland – in Gdańsk.
