Ukraine and Ukrainians are grateful to Poland and its people for the strong support they have provided to our country and our citizens since the first minutes of Russian aggression and continue to provide now. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Polish media.
"I want to thank the people of Poland, because this is unprecedented support for Ukraine. Unprecedented support for the Ukrainian people from the Polish people," the President said.
According to him, Poland has sheltered 2.5 million Ukrainians who were forced to flee their homeland, to escape the war, and is now doing everything possible to ensure that they do not feel like refugees.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also stressed that he is personally grateful to Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata, who "showed a special attitude to Ukraine."
The President also noted the fact that against the backdrop of the war, Ukraine and Poland managed to unite and push back to the background the historical issues they had before.
"Poland has a special relationship with Ukraine, and it seems to me that even the historical issues that the two countries have are insignificant compared to how united our countries have become since the beginning of this brazen war waged by Russia. Friendship, unity - we felt all this from Poland," he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he has been in constant contact with his Polish counterpart - every day or several times a day. This helped quickly approve joint decisions that facilitated the resolution of the situation at the borders and helped Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. There was an understanding of the need to make quick decisions "without excessive bureaucracy" on crossing the border, which would help in a difficult situation, said the Ukrainian President.
"We decided to open (the border - ed.) by phone. Poland met Ukrainians not just as its neighbors but as a family, without checking, because there was no time to check the documents of each child," said the President.
"Therefore, I am grateful for this - that Poland forgot about the bureaucracy, just as Ukraine did, and we had such a special relationship in the first days," he added.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has finally become clear who is a friend and who is an enemy.
"And the understanding of who is historically our partner in the future has also emerged. We do not have two opinions. One opinion, one friend, one enemy - to unite and win the war. This is a completely understandable thing. When you do not waste time on unnecessary dialogues. You know for sure: there is an enemy, and here is a friend. And it's simple, because it's straightforward," the President summed up.