Ukraine and neighboring Poland want to deepen their cooperation, especially in the military area. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported this on Friday in his evening video speech about his meeting with Poland's new Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, whose first trip abroad was to Kiev. “We are in the process of renewing our relations,” Sikorski pledged his country's continued support in the war against Russia.
“We discussed very serious possibilities for further joint work – work that will strengthen our two nations,” Zelensky said. “This especially applies to joint weapons production.” Previously, he had spoken of Poland and Ukraine as “very strong neighbors with a common history”.
Even before the change of government in Warsaw, Poland was considered one of Ukraine's strongest supporters. Among other things, Poland has already delivered tanks and combat aircraft to its neighbors, which the Ukrainian armed forces urgently need in their defensive battle against the Russian army.
Sikorski, in turn, called on Western countries to make more efforts. “In this huge battle, Mr Minister, Poland is on your side,” Sikorski told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev on Friday.
It is “completely unacceptable for a country to attack its neighbor and bomb cities, destroy entire provinces and deport children,” said Sikorski on his first trip abroad since taking office. During the meeting, aerial alarms sounded, warning of possible new Russian air attacks. “I believe this is the last colonial war in Europe and it should end as follows: Russia should lose and Ukraine should win,” he added.
“If the West mobilizes, I have no doubt who will win, but it must finally begin to mobilize,” Sikorski said at a press conference at the end of his trip. Western economies are “20 times richer than Russia” – but Moscow “has switched its economy to war mode”.
“We cannot allow Russia to produce more on the basis of a much smaller economy,” continued the Foreign Minister. “As wars are not won through tactical battles, wars are won through production.”
Kiev's allies are becoming increasingly cautious. According to senators, the US Congress will not approve any new military aid to Ukraine this year.
Sikorski's visit is a signal from the new Polish government that it wants to continue supporting Ukraine. There have recently been tensions between Warsaw and Kiev under the previous right-wing nationalist government.
Poland and Ukraine are close allies. Since the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Warsaw has been one of Kiev's biggest supporters and suppliers of weapons. Recently, however, there has been a dispute over Ukrainian grain exports and the activities of Ukrainian transport companies in Poland, which has led to a blockade of border crossings between the two countries by Polish truck drivers.
Kuleba expressed the hope that the “unacceptable” blockade of Polish transport companies at the common border will come to an end. “We have to find solutions,” Kuleba told Sikorski. “The first thing we must do is unblock the border, because this situation, when our friendly relationship is in the shadow of the blocked border, is unacceptable and harmful.” Polish Deputy Infrastructure Minister Pawel Gancarz later said that Poland expected a solution before Christmas or the end of the year.
Since the beginning of November, Polish transport companies have blocked several important border crossings with Ukraine, which has largely paralyzed freight traffic. Polish freight forwarders complain of “unfair competition” from Ukrainian companies after the EU suspended a series of requirements for border transport due to the Russian attack on the neighboring country.
Meanwhile, warring parties in Ukraine and Russia have reported enemy drone strikes. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched a total of 28 Iranian-designed Shahed combat drones toward Ukraine on Friday night. 24 of them were intercepted.
Russian authorities said they intercepted at least ten Ukrainian drones over the capital Moscow and other regions on Friday. At least twelve people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, regional crew chief Denis Pushilin said on the Telegram online service.