Speaker of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada visits Poland and awards speakers of Polish parliament

Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk on Wednesday began his visit to Poland by meeting with Speaker of the Sejm Elżbieta Witek.

After the meeting, Witek said "free, independent and secure Ukraine also means free, independent and secure Poland and whole Europe". The speaker also informed she and her guest discussed, among other things, the plan to introduce the 11th round of sanction against Russia.

"We realize that we all have to support Ukraine in military, diplomatic, and humanitarian aspects so that this war ends as soon as possible with Ukraine's victory," Witek stressed.

She also reminded that parliament speakers of NATO countries would meet on June 1-3 at the summit in Vilnius. "Ukraine

"As for Ukraine's membership in the EU, the countries of the European Union have made joint efforts to ensure that Ukraine is now on the right and fast track to joining the EU," Witek emphasized.

The Marshal of the Sejm said Poland would continue to support Ukraine, perfectly understanding the Russian threat.

"We understand that Putin will not stop in Ukraine, we know about the intentions of rebuilding Russia's great imperial positions, and we cannot allow this to happen," Witek said.

The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada said he came to Warsaw to thank Elżbieta Witek for her "engagement and leadership", and to thank Polish parliament for actions taken in support of Ukraine.

"We discussed a number of issues regarding the horrific crimes perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine. We are grateful for resolutions adopted by the Sejm regarding recognizing Russia as a terrorist state," he said.

The two speakers also spoke about calling up a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes and discussed Ukraine's future in the EU and NATO. They also covered all issues regarding the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.

Ruslan Stefanchuk thanked Elżbieta Witek for being a leader in bringing up the issue of abductions of Ukrainian children by Russia.

"When it comes to rebuilding Ukraine, we expect all top companies, including Polish ones, to take part in this reconstruction. Poland has done really a lot for our future victory," he stressed.

Stefanchuk said he had invited Witek to this year's international summit of the Crimean Platform set to take place in Prague.

"I'm grateful to the Polish nation, because this nation has not only opened doors to their homes, but also doors to their heart for the Ukrainian people, " the Speaker of Verkhovna Rada said, expressing hope the cooperation between two parliaments would continue to flourish.

The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also spoke with Speaker of the Senate, the upper house of the Polish parliament, Tomasz Grodzki.

"We are doing everything to ensure that Ukraine's victory in this clash with the barbarians happens as soon as possible and ends with the full restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity," Grodzki said.

According to him, the Senate of the Republic of Poland is making significant efforts to support Ukraine, in particular by adopting four resolutions in support of Ukraine: on Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, on recognizing the Russian leadership as a terrorist regime, on condemning the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and attempts to Russify them.

Grodzki also expressed hope that during the July NATO summit in Vilnius "the next step will be taken to ensure that Ukraine joins NATO structures as soon as possible."

"We are very impressed that despite the war and Russia's barbaric attacks against the civilian population, Ukraine is fulfilling the conditions for membership one by one, so I hope that this process will quickly end with Ukraine's accession to the EU," the Senate speaker said.

"We must also do everything we can to stop the crime of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia," he stressed, adding that Poland unequivocally supported the need to punish Russian criminals in the International Criminal Court.

Ruslan Stefanchuk thanked the Senate for passing the resolutions, which he called a "signpost for other politicians". "I would very much like to thank Mr Speaker for incredible personal courage, for being present in Kyiv already in the first days of Russian aggression, so we could witness together the cruelty of Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil," he added.

Stefanchuk stressed he wanted to thank the Senate especially for the resolution supporting Ukraine's NATO membership. "Today's Ukrainian Army is already de facto in NATO and it will be a huge reinforcement for NATO."

The chancelleries of the Sejm and the Senate informed on Twitter that Stefanchuk decorated Witek and Grodzki with a Ukrainian award in recognition of their merits to the Ukrainian nation.

In the afternoon, Stefanchuk also met with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

"Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met with Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk to discuss: military support for Ukraine (the value of our deliveries of weapons, ammunition & military equipment has already exceeded EUR 3 billion), EU accession negotiations, rebuilding of Ukraine," Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland said on Twitter.