Leaders of Poland and Baltic states head to Kyiv to meet Ukraine's President
April 13, 2022, 9:42 am

Leaders of Poland and Baltic states head to Kyiv to meet Ukraine's President

Ukraine's president-Volodymyr Zelenskiy (File photo: Facebook page)

The Swiss Info reported, citing Reuters, an adviser to the Polish leader said on Wednesday (Apr 13) that the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are on their way to Kyiv to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The four join a growing number of European politicians to visit the Ukrainian capital since Russian forces were driven away from the country's north earlier this month.

"Heading to Kyiv with a strong message of political support and military assistance," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted on Wednesday, along with a picture of the presidents next to a train.

The "symbolic" visit will include talks about the details of support, Pawel Szrot, head of the Polish president Andrzej Duda's office told private broadcaster Polsat News.

In this photo, Russian missiles targeted maternity and children's hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

It comes the day after U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow's invasion of Ukraine amounted to genocide, while President Vladimir Putin promised Russia would "rhythmically and calmly" continue its operation and achieve its goals.

The four presidents' offices declined to provide details of the visit for security reasons.

German president is not welcome in Ukrainian capital Kiev after visit to Warsaw

Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 on what he calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier planned to visit Kyiv at the same time "to send a strong signal of European solidarity with Ukraine there," but was not welcomed by Ukraine, he said on Tuesday (Apr 12).

Biden describes Putin’s actions in Ukraine as ‘genocide’ for first time

German Bild newspaper reported that Zelenskiy had rejected Steinmeier's plans to visit due to his close relations with Russia in recent years and his support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline designed to double the flow of Russian gas to Germany, which has since been suspended.

Source: swissinfo

German president is not welcome in Ukrainian capital Kiev after visit to Warsaw Escalation Scenarios Between Russia and NATO in Ukraine

Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.