Zelenskyj visits the biggest supporter – the night update without photos

First official visit to Poland since the start of the war

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Poland and Ukraine are close allies. “Ukrainian and Polish hearts beat for freedom, for the mutual independence of our states, for our native Europe, our common home, and we will win!” Zelenskyy said in a speech in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Wednesday. “There is no longer any force that can overcome the Ukrainian-Polish friendship.”

It was Zelenskyj’s first official visit to Poland since the start of the Russian invasion of his country on February 24, 2022. In Warsaw, he spoke with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, among others.

For the Poles, the visit was primarily an important symbolic gesture. From the first days of the war, the Poles showed unprecedented helpfulness to war refugees. Millions crossed the border, many moved further west, some went back to their homeland. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), about 1.6 million people from Ukraine currently have protection status in Poland.

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Poland’s military support for Ukraine also played an important role in Zelensky’s visit. A few weeks ago, Duda announced that MiG-29 fighter jets would be delivered to Ukraine. During Selenskyj’s visit, he got specific: Ukraine had already delivered eight MiG-29s from Poland, four of them “in recent months”, four more only “recently”. In addition, six MiG-29s are currently being prepared for transfer, Duda announced.

Zelenskyj also signed a preliminary contract with Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki for the purchase of new Polish wheeled armored personnel carriers. A few days ago, Morawiecki announced that Ukraine wanted to order 100 KTO Rosomak wheeled infantry fighting vehicles. The contract will be financed with EU funds for Poland and US aid for Ukraine.

In his speech, Zelenskyi stressed that the close Polish-Ukrainian alliance is a cornerstone for freedom in Eastern Europe. “If we are free with you, it is a guarantee that freedom will be strong in all our neighboring countries, European Union neighbors – Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania and other Baltic countries,” Zelenskyy said.

He added: “If we are free, it is a guarantee that freedom will also assert itself in Moldova and will not leave Georgia and will definitely come to Belarus.” Moldova is under Russian pressure. In Georgia in the South Caucasus there had recently been protests against the government’s desire to reintroduce civil society, as in Russia. Closely linked to Moscow under the head of state Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is involved in the offensive war against Ukraine.

Kiev: Heavy fighting from house to house in Bachmut

Russian attackers and Ukrainian defenders fought bitter house-to-house fighting in Bakhmut. A number of attacks by Russian soldiers in the industrial zone of the eastern Ukrainian city were repelled with the support of artillery and grenade launchers, the military command in Kiev said on Wednesday. Despite a superior number of personnel, the Russian units could not break through, it was said.

Since late summer, Russian troops have been trying to capture Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Most of the city and parts of the center are already under Russian control. In the western part of the city, which used to have a population of 70,000, the Ukrainian units are still stubbornly resisting. Russia invaded Ukraine more than 13 months ago.

UN: US and UK boycott Russian children’s commissioners

Representatives from the US and Britain have left an informal meeting of the UN Security Council in protest at speeches by Russian children’s commissioner Maria Lwova-Belowa, who is wanted by an arrest warrant. When Lvowa-Belowa spoke in a video conference at the New York session on Wednesday, the two countries’ seats remained empty — as did those of Albania and Malta.

Russia currently holds the rotating chair of the body. Lwova-Belova’s invitation was considered a provocation as she is considered a key figure in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children from the war zone to Russia. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has therefore issued an arrest warrant against Lwova-Belowa and against Russian President Vladimir Putin for this “kidnapping”.

Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Kiev has repeatedly accused Moscow of “deporting” Ukrainian children. Recently, Kiev spoke of 19,514 affected children, including 4,390 orphans. Moscow denies this and speaks of evacuations.

That will be important on Thursday

French Head of State Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet China’s Head of State and Party Leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. The focus will be on the conflict in Ukraine and economic relations.

In Moscow, Kremlin chief Putin and Belarusian ruler Lukashenko continue their talks. It deals with current political issues. In addition to the planned deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus on the border with Poland, this will probably also include a response to Finland’s accession to NATO. (con/sda/dpa)