Three European prime ministers made the unprecedented decision to travel to kyiv on Tuesday to offer the support of their countries to Ukraine and its president, amid an upsurge in Russian bombing.
Prime Ministers of Poland, Morawiecki; Slovenia,Janez Janša; and Czech Republic, Petr Fiala arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday night, which entered a 35-hour curfew for fear of a resurgence of the Russian offensive.
They were also accompanied by the leader of the ruling party in Poland, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
The four met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Prime Minister.
The trip was an idea of the Polish government, after the European Union (EU) warned of possible security risks.
“I think it is necessary to have a peacekeeping mission, NATO, possibly a broader international structure, but a mission that can defend itself, that operates on Ukrainian territory,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski said from kyiv.
For his part, the Slovenian Prime Minister told the people of Ukraine: “You are not alone. Your fight is our fight and together we will prevail.”
Zelinsky (right) with the European leaders who have visited him.
Meanwhile, the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, assured: “They are fighting for their lives, their freedom. But we know that they are also fighting for our lives and our freedom.”
“We admire your courage and we will continue to provide more help and support,” he continued, adding that “Europe stands with” the people of Ukraine.
Both leaders also said, in Ukrainian: “Glory to Ukraine.”
Before arriving in the Ukrainian capital, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the trip was necessary because history was being made in kyiv.
“It is here that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of all of us hangs in the balance.“, he tweeted.
From left to right, the Prime Ministers of Slovenia, Janez Jansa; from Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki; the leader of the Polish ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczyinski, and the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala.
Morawiecki explained that the trip sought to convey the message that Ukraine could count on the help of its friends.
The three leaders are the first international leaders to visit President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia launched its invasion of its neighbor on February 24.
During the meeting with Zelinsky, loud explosions were heard throughout kyiv from the fighting on the western edge of the capital.
risky journey
The European Union said the prime ministers had no particular mandate, but leaders in Brussels were aware of the trip, raised at an informal EU summit in Versailles last week.
Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, admitted the journey was risky, but “worth doing for the sake of values.”
He indicated that they had informed the Russians that they would make the visit.
The senior officials traveled by train from Warsaw to kyiv.
The leaders decided to travel by train because flying on a Polish military plane could have been seen by Russia. as dangerously provocativereports BBC Europe editor Katya Adler.
Ukraine’s president has repeatedly called on NATO to impose a no-fly zone over his country’s airspace, but the alliance has refused.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that the Ukrainians now understood that they could not join NATO.
“We heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we couldn’t come together. It’s true and we have to admit it. I’m glad our people are starting to understand this and trust themselves and our partners,” he said.
