Poland’s Tusk calls for greater Western support for Ukraine during visit to Lviv
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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the city of Lviv. Tusk called on Western countries to strengthen support for Ukraine and to “stop speculating about a possible defeat”.
He also pledged Poland’s backing for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and NATO while Zelensky said that “progress” is being made on tensions over World War Two history that have recently caused rifts between the two allies.
I am pleased to welcome Polish Prime Minister @donaldtusk to Ukraine today, and I am glad that we had an extremely productive and good discussion – our relations remain stable during such challenging times.
It is crucial for Ukraine and Poland to be supportive of each other’s… pic.twitter.com/l4ZieOQADY
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 17, 2024
“I appeal to all leaders of the Western world: we all need to support Ukraine at this time, more than ever before,” said Tusk, speaking alongside Zelensky. “We must do everything as a community of our Western civilization so that Ukraine emerges from this war without losses, with respect for its territory, borders and security for the future.”
“Stop speculating in any world capital about a possible defeat of Ukraine,” added the Polish prime minister. “Ukraine is successfully defending itself against Russian aggression, although no one gave it a chance in the first days of the war.”
During his trip, Tusk visited parts of the city damaged by Russian bombardment as well as the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lviv, a memorial important for the ethnic Polish community in Ukraine. Before World War Two, the city was part of Poland.
My appeal to Western leaders from Lviv. Stop speculating about Ukraine’s possible defeat. It has nothing to do with the facts. Ukraine, despite some naysayers, defends itself effectively against the Russian aggression, even though no-one gave it a chance in the first days of the… pic.twitter.com/korH5L1cSi
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) December 17, 2024
“This short visit was a reminder of how senseless, cruel and brutal Russian aggression is and how great is the spirit of the Ukrainian people,” Tusk said, quoted by the Interia news website. “Poland understands how unjust Russia’s onslaught is and how just the war the Ukrainians are fighting in defence of their homeland is.”
Zelensky, meanwhile, lauded the close cooperation between Ukraine and Poland, highlighting joint efforts in defence and cultural initiatives.
“We had a very warm, effective and substantive conversation today, and this is important for both our countries,” said the Ukrainian president. He expressed appreciation for Poland’s ongoing military aid, noting that a 45th package of military aid – worth around €100 million – has been completed.
In the months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland was among the leading donors of military equipment and other forms of aid to Kyiv. That included transferring over 300 tanks to its eastern neighbour.
Addressing Ukraine’s European aspirations, meanwhile, Zelensky expressed hope that Poland’s presidency of the Council of European Union, which begins in January, would help Kyiv in its pursuit of EU membership.
Tusk, meanwhile, affirmed Poland’s support for Ukraine’s NATO ambitions. “If it had depended on Poland, it would not have taken more than one day. You can count on our diplomacy here,” he said.
Zelensky also hailed progress on historical disputes between the two nations, stating that collaboration between their ministries of culture had achieved tangible results. “Joint work has started and we have progress here,” he noted.
Poland and Ukraine have jointly announced progress towards resolving the thorny issue of exhuming ethnic Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists in WWII.
Ukraine says there are “no obstacles” to exhumations and it will “positively consider” requests https://t.co/PZvuwFwZYh
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 26, 2024
Similar language was used last month in a joint announcement by the two countries’ foreign ministers, in which they suggested that progress was being made towards allowing exhumations in Ukraine of the remains of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two.
That episode, known as the Volhynia massacres, has continued to be a bone of contention between the two countries.
“It is very important to me…that the ability of both Ukrainians and Poles to resolve difficult historical issues becomes a trademark of both our countries and peoples,” said Tusk, quoted by the Onet news website.
A study published last week showed that positive sentiment towards Poles among Ukrainians has fallen by half since 2022. The main reasons given by Ukrainians for that decline are historical disputes and the blockades of the Ukrainian border organised by Polish farmers.
The proportion of Ukrainians who hold a positive opinion of Poles has fallen from 83% to 41% in the last two years.
Most identified border blockades by Polish farmers and the WWII Volhynia massacres as the main causes of disputes between the two nations https://t.co/Ty9hU8hiQV
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 16, 2024
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: ZelenskyyUa/X
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
