On Sunday, Andrzej Duda, the President of the Republic of Poland, addressed the Verkhovna Rada – the unicameral parliament of Ukraine – and said that only Kyiv has the right to decide its future, becoming the first foreign head of the state to deliver an address to the in-person to the parliament of Ukraine since Moscow’s unprovoked and large-scale incursion of the East European country.
According to Poland’s national news agency, PAP, the Polish leader received a standing ovation when Duda thanked the legislators for allowing him to speak where the heart of the free, sovereign, and democratic state of Ukraine beats. Moreover, Andrzej Sebastian Duda told the Ukrainian legislature that the non-communist world countries have the face of embattled Ukraine.
From the first day of the war, the heroic #Polish nation has been tirelessly helping Ukraine.
Ukrainians are wholeheartedly grateful to the Poles, although words of gratitude are not enough to describe our gratefulness.
Dziękujemy serdecznie! 💙💛🤝🤍❤️
📹 @BandaAgency pic.twitter.com/nVKcHdUkpv
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) May 22, 2022
In addition, Ukraine has rejected any peace agreement that would involve ceding part of its territory to Russia and has sacked calls for an end of hostilities that would involve Moscow troops remaining in the areas they’ve seized, saying this would merely offer the Kremlin time to rebuild its military.
Furthermore, Duda said that, unfortunately, in the European region, there’ve been worrying voices recently demanding that Kyiv yield to the demands of the Russian President. He added that he wants to articulate: Only Ukraine has the right to determine its future; Only Ukraine should decide for itself. It was Polish President Duda’s second trip to the Ukrainian capital since April 2022.
Poland Fallen Squarely on the Ukrainian Side
The Central European country of Poland has become an essential partner of Ukraine, greeting nearly 3463320 of more than 6.444 million refugees from Ukraine and becoming an entrance for European weapons and humanitarian assistance. Additionally, it’s a transit site for people who have volunteered to join Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces and fight off Moscow’s brutal assaults.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, called the speech of Poland’s Duda a historic opportunity not to lose such a strong connection, developed through blood, through Putin’s invasion. He added: All this not to lose Ukrainian land and people. Andrzej Duda acknowledged American President’s role in unifying European countries in supporting Zelenskyy’s Ukraine and levying the harshest sanctions against the Russian economy, officials, and business oligarchs.
Source: Web
Additionally, Zein Basravi, Al Jazeera’s journalist, underlined the significance of the surprise trip by the Polish leader and said that unlike France and Germany, which have traditionally strong political & business relations with Russian Federation, they had made efforts to strike a comprehensive and realistic peaceful approach in terms of dealing with Kyiv and Moscow, throughout the brutal war, Warsaw has fallen squarely on the Ukrainian side.
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