"For our freedom and for yours". Poland's defense minister met with Pentagon chief

"I'm reminded once again of the old Polish saying 'For our freedom and for yours,' Mr. Minister, Poland has once again demonstrated that spirit in the past two months since the invasion, you have helped the Ukrainian people fight for their country and escape from the horrors of war," U.S. Defense Secretary said.

"You have provided much needed security assistance to the Ukrainian military to help it continue to successfully fight back invading Russian forces and you have performed the absolutely essential role of facilitating the delivery of security assistance from the United States and other NATO allies and partners from around the globe," he added.

According to Lloyd Austin, "most importantly, the Polish people have opened their hearts and their homes to millions of Ukrainians fleeing the violence. You've done it with great support".

"So, Mr. Minister, please accept my sincerest thanks for what you and your country are doing to assist Ukraine in defending its freedoms and the freedom of Europe. I look forward to discussing the ways in which we can further strengthen our close partnership in this and other important areas," Austin said.

"I appreciate this cooperation, especially nowadays when we experience Russian invasion and atrocities in Ukraine. This unjustified and unprovoked war is a Russian attempt to shake and fracture the foundations of European order, and it provides us with major challenges to the Polish-European and allied security with great concern," Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said.

"We are observing every day Russian attacks in Ukraine. I trust that Russia will be held accountable for all its war crimes, especially acts of genocide, against the civilian population," he added.

Błaszczak also said he was "grateful for the U.S. engagement and commitment in solidifying allied posture against this war". "Strengthening of NATO's eastern flank, including deployment of additional troops to Poland and support for NATO's response forces, is a proof of the U.S. reliability and steadfast assurance of the American dedication to the safety of NATO's European partners," he said.

"I believe that the U.S. Active Defense Policy and its leadership is crucial in preventing the Kremlin from any hostile acts against NATO members," Błaszczak added.

The number of people fleeing Ukraine to escape Russia's invasion has passed five million in Europe's worst refugee crisis since the end of World War Two, a U.N. refugee agency said on Wednesday.

Russia's invasion has triggered a massive displacement of people in the nearly eight weeks since it began, including more than 7 million Ukrainians within the country. U.N. data showed that 5.03 million had fled Ukraine as of Wednesday. More than half the refugees have entered the European Union through Poland where many had family and other connections living in the region's largest pre-war Ukrainian community.

Russia launched what it calls a "special military operation" on Feb. 24 to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext. Russia has denied using banned weapons or targeting civilians.