Polish, Czech, Slovenian PMs arrive in Kiev
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The premiers of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia visited Ukraine as EU "representatives"
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Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki, Czech PM Petr Fiala, Slovenian PM Janez Jansa, and Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal in Kiev, Ukraine, March 15, 2022
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and their Slovenian counterpart Janez Jansa arrived Tuesday in Kiev, Ukraine, making the first visit by foreign leaders to the Ukrainian capital since the start of the Russian special military operation in the country.
"We have to halt this tragedy unfolding in the East as quickly as possible," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a post on Facebook, announcing their arrival.
The Polish premier also asserted that Ukraine had the "unequivocal support" of the European Union.
The three foreign premiers visited Kiev as "representatives" of the 27-nation bloc, said an early statement from the Polish government, announcing that they were set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Warsaw's statement said the visit had been organized "in agreement" with European Council chief Charles Michel and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
According to the statement, the visit came in a bid to confirm the EU's support for Ukraine and present a broad package of support for the Ukrainian state and society.
The PMs are accompanied by Poland's populist right-wing Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who will also meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The talks would focus on support for Ukraine and "strengthening sanctions against the Russian aggression," Shmyhal said on Twitter.
The Prime Ministers of 🇵🇱 @MorawieckiM, 🇸🇮 @JJansaSDS and 🇨🇿 @P_Fiala arrived on the behalf of @EUCouncil to #Kyiv today. The courage of true friends of 🇺🇦! Discussing support of #Ukraine and strengthening sanctions against the Russian aggression.
— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) March 15, 2022
Russia had launched a special military operation for several reasons, such as NATO's eastward expansion, the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass, and the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, in addition to Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.
