Only Ukraine has the right to select its own destiny, the Polish president told legislators in Kyiv on Sunday, becoming the first foreign leader to address the Ukrainian parliament in person since Russia’s February 24 invasion.
Kiev has ruled out any peace accord in which it cedes land and has rejected suggestions for a truce in which Russian forces remain in territory they have taken, claiming that this would just give Moscow time to rebuild its forces.
‘Worrying voices have emerged, urging Ukraine to yield to Putin’s demands,’ Andrzej Duda stated. ‘Only Ukraine has the right to select its own destiny… nothing about you without you,’ he concluded, drawing a standing ovation from the chamber.
According to Duda, the international community must insist that Russia remove fully from Ukrainian land.
‘If Ukraine is sacrificed for economic or political purposes – even a millimetre of its territory – it will be a great blow not only to the Ukrainian nation, but to the entire Western world,’ Duda warned.
Poland’s relations with Russia have long been strained as the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union, which played a part in the demise of Communism in Eastern Europe. Warsaw has positioned itself as one of Kyiv’s most steadfast supporters since the Russian incursion.
Poland is a major supporter of heavy sanctions on Russia and has spoken out in favour of Ukraine joining the European Union.
‘I will not rest until Ukraine is admitted to the European Union,’ Duda declared on Sunday.
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