In the morning hours of Tuesday, 23 August 2022, Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv, at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“During the visit, the presidents will talk bilateral issues devoted to the situation in Ukraine, military, economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine and bilateral cooperation”, reports the Polish President’s Office.

President Andrzej Duda will also participate in the 2nd Crimean Platform summit convened by the President of Ukraine.

The Crimean Platform is a forum with the participation of top leaders of states and international organisations aimed at bringing about the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and an end to the illegal occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The Platform was inaugurated, exactly one year ago, in Kyiv with the participation of President Andrzej Duda.

At a press conference this morning, the Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland, Paweł Szrot pointed out that the President has always supported Ukraine’s independence. His presence in Kyiv is also of symbolic importance now. Tomorrow, Ukraine celebrates its national Independence Day, commemorating the proclamation of independence from the USSR in 1991. It also marks 6 months since Russia launched its invasion against Ukraine.

The head of the presidential cabinet noted that President Duda is keen on restrictive steps against the Russian Federation to make the Russians understand what their country is committing. He added that the details of Andrzej Duda’s visit to Kyiv would not be disclosed for security reasons.

The visit of the Polish President is the fifth meeting between the Presidents of Poland and Ukraine this year and the third since the beginning of the war. The previous meetings took place on 20-21 January in Poland and 23-24 February, 13 April and 21-22 May in Kyiv.

Adrian Andrzejewski