The European Union will hold a summit with Ukraine on 3 February, the spokesman for the President of the European Council, Barend Leyts, announced on Thursday, announcing that the Ukrainian President, Volodymir Zelenski, has been invited to visit Brussels.
According to Leyts, the summit will not be attended by EU heads of state and government, but only by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and it is not yet known where it will be held.
The announcements of the summit and the invitation to Zelenski to visit Brussels came less than 24 hours after the Ukrainian leader met in Washington with Biden and went to Capitol Hill to address both houses of the US Congress.
Taking advantage of the visit, the US government announced a new $1.85 billion military aid package for Ukraine that, for the first time, includes the Patriot system that the Ukrainians have been asking for months.
On a more symbolic level, Zelenski's trip to Washington was also notable for his presentation to Congress of the Ukrainian flag signed by Ukrainian soldiers, as well as the fact that he wore a military uniform throughout the visit, even inside the Oval Office.
President Zelensky handed Biden a medal given to him from the Ukrainian captain of a HIMARS battery.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 21, 2022
“Undeserved, but appreciated,” said Biden. pic.twitter.com/FGXGgP7FO6
Zelenski today expressed his gratitude to Poland in a meeting with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, during a stop in Warsaw on his way back from his trip to the United States.
"On my way home I met with the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, a friend of Ukraine," Zelenski wrote, via his Facebook account, about that bilateral meeting, in which "we addressed the historical challenges arising from a full-scale war".
The Ukrainian leader had already made a technical stop in Warsaw on his way to Washington, although without any political meetings.
I thank @POTUS for the warm welcome and I deeply appreciate all the support of the U.S. and the American people. I am confident that together we will be able to secure a better, prosperous and free future for both of our nations. Ukraine’s victory will also be America’s victory. pic.twitter.com/OhclRtwIJy
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 22, 2022
On the way back, he did meet with his Polish counterpart, a major European Union (EU) ally of Ukraine and the main entry point for Ukrainian refugees into the EU since the Russian invasion began in February.
Poland was thus the first EU country in recent months to receive a visit from Zelenski, who had chosen the United States for his first trip abroad since then.
Duda, for his part, travelled to Kiev last April, accompanied by the leaders of the three Baltic states - Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia - who together with Warsaw have from the outset shown the utmost solidarity with Kiev and backed its demands for military, financial and humanitarian aid.
Ukrainians have friends everywhere they go. @ZelenskyyUa meeting @AndrzejDuda in Poland today.
— Dr. Olga Onuch (Онух) (@oonuch) December 22, 2022
Smiles all around.
Poland Stands with Ukraine.
Video c/o president Volodymyr Zelensky’s telegram. pic.twitter.com/cNLkGYjgvH
The Polish government on Thursday praised the US decision to supply Patriot defence systems to Ukraine and recalled that Warsaw had already proposed delivering such weapons to Kiev, which Germany rejected.
The Patriot systems "are an effective system against Russian terrorist attacks against critical Ukrainian infrastructure", said Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, after confirming that the administration of US President Joe Biden had confirmed a new military aid package that includes these systems.
"When we considered transferring Patriot systems to Ukraine, we were thinking primarily of the security of Poland, Ukraine and the whole of NATO's eastern flank," he added.
President @ZelenskyyUa of Ukraine and President @AndrzejDuda have just met in Rzeszów in Southeast Poland. President Zelensky is on his way back home from the USA. pic.twitter.com/z9ywLQqBfc
— Jakub Bornio (@JakubBornio) December 22, 2022
The Polish government had considered transferring these systems to Ukrainian territory shortly after Berlin pledged to deliver them to Warsaw to improve the defence of this country, a partner of the European Union (EU) and NATO.
Berlin reacted strangely to Warsaw's offer to Kiev, which strained relations between the two neighbouring countries.
In the end, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht and her Polish counterpart agreed that the Patriots would remain on Polish territory to reinforce the Eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance.