Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has condemned the full-scale invasion by Russia on Ukraine and called upon “Europe and the free world” to stop Putin’s military actions.
In a statement posted on his social media channels early on Thursday morning, Morawiecki insisted Poland and her allies must “immediately respond to Russia’s criminal aggression” against Ukraine.
“Europe and the free world has to stop Putin. Today’s European Council should approve the fiercest possible sanctions,” Morawiecki urged.
“Our support for Ukraine must be real,” he concluded.
Additionally, the Polish Committee for National Security and Defense Affairs was convened to discuss the ongoing war beyond Poland’s eastern border. The committee, chaired by Polish President Andrzej Duda, will be responsible for coordinating preparations, actions and undertaking decisions in security and state defense affairs.
Shortly after 4 a.m. CET on Thursday, Vladimir Putin announced in a television address the initiation of a Russian military operation in eastern Ukraine. The Russian president warned that if any other country interfered with this operation, it would lead to consequences the world had never seen.
Russia’s leader accused NATO and the United States of ignoring his country’s demands to block Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO, as well as Moscow’s so-called security guarantees.
Putin claimed that the military operation was meant to “demilitarize” Ukraine. He also called upon Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and return to their homes.
This declaration came merely hours after the Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine asked Moscow for military assistance against alleged aggression from the side of the Ukrainian army.
This announcement was in line with Western predictions that Russia had been searching for a pretext for war.
