Almost 100 sappers from the Polish police have been neutralising pyrotechnic explosives left by the Russians in Ukraine for the past five months. Upon their return to the country, the officers met with President Andrzej Duda. The President thanked the officers for their exemplary performance of an extremely important and dangerous task and presented them with state decorations.

“This was a beautiful gesture on the part of the Republic of Poland made with your hands, your heroism, your dedication in the service of another human being”, said Andrzej Duda.

The President stressed that he deeply believes and knows that people in Ukraine will never forget the service of Polish officers. 

“Those Ukrainians – whom you helped, whom you met every day, who saw your service and work – will remember that Polish officers, policemen, pyrotechnicians, sappers came here at the most difficult time and calmly, painstakingly, for months, performed their service – to enable them to live a normal life, to save them and their children. Such things are not forgotten”, said Andrzej Duda.

The President also pointed out that the risk during the mission in Ukraine was double, maybe even triple. 

“Firstly, because these were explosives, dangerous materials, and secondly, because these materials could have been planted deliberately and as booby traps in many cases, in order to do harm, and not simply abandoned somewhere. And thirdly, because it happened in places where it was war, where the service was interrupted by anti-missile, anti-aircraft alerts”, noted Andrzej Duda.

Ninety-eight Polish police officers were in Ukraine as part of a humanitarian contingent. The purpose of the almost five-month mission was to support Ukrainian services in demining and neutralising explosives left by Russian troops in areas inhabited by civilians.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński