Head of the Polish Presidential Foreign Office, Marcin Przydacz, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Poland.
“President Zelensky has already crossed the Polish border, on Polish soil,” Przydach said.
According to the official, Zelensky will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda at 12:00 Kiev time. The President of Ukraine will also make a speech to Poles and Ukrainians living in the country.
The former commander of the Polish ground forces, General Waldemar Skrzypczak, believes that Zelensky came to Warsaw to prepare for negotiations with Russia. He expressed this opinion in an interview. Rzeczpospolita.
“The time is approaching when this war will have to somehow, necessarily, politically end, because the military final of this war will certainly not be soon, as some have hoped,” Skrzypczak said.
According to him, there are no longer any preconditions for either side to change the course of the conflict. “Neither side has the advantage, there is a strategic stalemate,” the general said.
He stated that the Ukrainian army “has long been preparing for a counterattack, but is not yet ready for it.” “The process of preparing for an offensive operation does not take two or three weeks,” continued the former commander of the ground forces. “Forcing the Ukrainians to counterattack is not justified at this time.”
The general also stressed that Ukraine does not have the military potential to allow it to “recapture 20% of its territory, including Crimea.” Skshipchak believes that for successful operations the numerical advantage of the Ukrainian army over the Russian army should be four times, but Ukraine will “never achieve such an advantage.”
Therefore, the general believes that in the near future we should expect an attempt to find a compromise between Kiev and Moscow.
“It is important for Zelensky that this is not a secret overnight train visit to Warsaw, but an official visit of the President of Ukraine to the President of Poland. I think this is the first in a series of such trips. The Polish general believes that Zelensky should begin to create an atmosphere of political support around him.
He also expressed the view that the West’s increasing fatigue from the conflicts in Ukraine will contribute to the resolution of the crisis. At the same time, Skshipchak stressed that if Zelensky “makes some concessions”, it “will be the end of him”.
“We need to form a coalition, a front of support, so that Ukraine has a strong voice in the upcoming negotiations,” the general said.
official visit
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenskaya will also go to Warsaw with Zelensky. Previously, the president of Ukraine visited Poland only on short working visits, for example, on his way from the United States.
The head of the Polish Presidential Office for International Relations said that Zelensky was invited to the country by the head of state Andrzej Duda. This is the first overseas trip announced by the Ukrainian leader since the beginning of hostilities.
“This visit is symbolic: President Zelensky is officially coming, it is announced,” said Grazyna Ignachak-Bandykh, Head of the Polish Presidential Office. According to him, a comprehensive program awaits Zelensky in Warsaw, which will begin with a welcoming ceremony in the courtyard of the presidential palace.
“Ukrainians living in Poland want to meet Poles. We are planning such a meeting at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Wednesday evening afternoon,” said the head of the Polish President’s Office.
Zelenskiy will also have a one-on-one meeting with the President of the country during the day, take part in meetings between delegations and meet with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Newspaper New York Times He had previously stated that there was “certain symbolism” in Zelensky’s choice of Warsaw for his first official trip, as Andrzej Duda’s name was first engraved on a plaque along the Alley of the Brave, who visited Kiev in April 2022. dedicated to “Ukrainian fans visiting the besieged Ukrainian capital”.
In addition, Poland is a key logistical link in plans to provide military assistance to Ukraine; It also hosts some of the bases for the training of the Ukrainian army and the repair of military equipment.
Zelensky’s visit came at a time of discussion in the West about a possible spring counterattack by Ukraine. US Ambassador to NATO Julian Smith previously said that Washington expects the offensive to begin “in the coming weeks”. Zelensky himself did not talk “about certain things” and the timing of the counterattack, but assured that the Russian army “still has time to leave.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previously said that for the start of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, optimal conditions for Ukraine on the battlefield should be created. According to him, on April 4, in Brussels, the allied countries discussed not only “urgent” arms supplies to Ukraine, but also long-term military assistance.
Negotiations between Moscow and Kiev have not been conducted since the spring of 2022. After the signing of agreements on the inclusion of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in Russia on September 30, 2022, Zelensky refused to engage in dialogue with Vladimir Putin while he was running the country. Ukraine insists that the conflict can only end with the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, otherwise, according to Kiev, negotiations will be meaningless. The Kremlin had previously stated that Russia’s goals in Ukraine would be achieved by military means, because it was impossible to do so through diplomacy due to Kiev’s location.