Polish President: Russia wanted to defeat Ukrainian Armed Forces but are now running away from them

Denys Karlovskyi – Sunday, 22 May 2022, 18:10

Polish President Andrzej Duda ironically commented on the Russian occupiers’ ambitious plans to capture Ukraine in several days by outnumbering Ukrainian troops, without taking into consideration Ukrainians’ desire to defend their country.

Source: Duda during a press briefing in Kyiv’s Mariinskyi Palace

Quote from Duda: "Ukraine’s defenders turned out to be a lot more courageous than the world could imagine or even hope for. Ukrainians are bravely defending Ukraine against the enormous army of the world’s largest country, which thought it could simply outnumber Ukrainian troops. It turned out not to be the case: the Russians were sent running away from Ukraine, leaving behind their tanks, armoured vehicles, and supplies in fear that the Ukrainians would defeat and destroy them.

Who could have imagined this and expected such outstanding, extraordinary heroism! Well let me tell you, we knew and we expected that the Ukrainians would fight back. We are Ukraine’s neighbours and we know that Ukrainians have always been unusually brave people and that Ukraine will withstand the aggressor’s blows.

Mister President [Zelenskyy - ed.] constantly reassured me, saying ‘Andrzej, if someone thinks that the Russians will easily capture Ukraine, they are mistaken. People are prepared to fight like nowhere else in the world. We will defend our Motherland until the very end’."

Details: Duda stressed that the world must continue supplying Ukraine not just with humanitarian aid, but also with weapons, and that it mustn’t stop doing so – otherwise the Russian aggression will threaten the entire world. He added that the only way to hasten a peaceful outcome for Ukraine is to further isolate Russia from the rest of the world and to tighten sanctions against it, and not to put pressure on Ukraine to agree to the occupiers’ disgraceful compromises.

Duda criticised those member-states of the European Union that delay and obstruct another round of sanctions against Russia, which would bring Europe closer to the embargo of Russian energy.

The Polish President personally thanked President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian Parliament for an opportunity to speak before the latter. He said it was his great honour to be the first world leader to visit Kyiv since the Russian invasion on 24 February.

President Duda said that it is simply impossible for most people to comprehend what is happening in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts right now. Hundreds of Ukrainians are dying every day, sacrificing their lives to defend Ukraine’s independence. Duda said that Ukraine’s defenders must be always on our minds.

He said that he sees and appreciates the Ukrainians’ gratitude and sympathy for the Polish people and Poland.

The Polish President said that in the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine he had very open and honest conversations with President Zelenskyy when the two leaders discussed the state of affairs. He said that he was worried about Ukraine and President Zelenskyy during the days when Russian troops were shelling the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and threatened hostilities on the streets of Kyiv.

Background:

• Earlier, during his address in the Ukrainian Parliament, President Duda emphasised that Ukraine is defending the entire world, which is why the world must be involved in giving as much aid to Ukraine as possible. He also stressed that the decision to use the Russian assets frozen by the European Union to rebuild Ukraine after the war must be approved in the near future.
• After the meeting between the Polish and Ukrainian presidents in Kyiv on 22 May, the two leaders signed an agreement to simplify border crossing between the two countries for both Polish and Ukrainian citizens.
• President Zelenskyy introduced a bill designed to create special legal protections for Polish citizens who live, study, or work in Ukraine. He said that Russia unknowingly removed all disagreements between Poland and Ukraine when it began its full-scale invasion in Ukraine.
• On 20 May, President Duda said that the only acceptable end to the war in Ukraine will be the complete restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.