“I think that it is necessary to have a peace mission - Nato, possibly some wider international structure - but a mission that will be able to defend itself, which will operate on Ukrainian territory,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski said during the conference, which was broadcast on Polish television.

“It will be a mission that will strive for peace, to give humanitarian aid, but at the same time it will also be protected by appropriate forces, armed forces,” he said.

The comments followed an extraordinary meeting with the three EU leaders in a capital which is close to being encircled by Russian forces. They are the first western visitors to Kyiv since the war began two weeks ago.

Morawiecki tweeted: “It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance. EU supports Ukraine, which can count on the help of its friends – we brought this message to Kyiv today.”

“At the same time, we will present a broad package of support for Ukraine and its citizens during the visit. The international community has also been informed of this visit by international organisations, including the United Nations.”

In statements from their respective capitals ahead of the meeting with Zelenskiy, it was said that they would be offering their support to Ukraine’s president as representatives of the other 24 EU heads of state and government.

The visit came as the emergency services in Kyiv said at least five further people had been killed due to shelling in the capital, including on a 15-storey apartment building shortly before dawn on Tuesday.

“The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and to present a broad package of support for the Ukrainian state and society,” the Polish government’s statement said.

But EU officials in Brussels said there was some nervousness about the visit and diplomats for some capitals said they had not been notified until minutes before the trip was announced.

The meeting came as MPs from across the continent voted to expel Russia from the Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights organisation, over the invasion of Ukraine in a further sign of the Kremlin’s estrangement from the western democratic order.

Source: The Guardian

Powered by NewsAPI.org