Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk met with a delegation of the Poland–Ukraine Interparliamentary Friendship Group, headed by Sejm Deputy Ms Katarzyna Królak.
The Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament expressed her gratitude to the members of the Polish Sejm who arrived in Kyiv on a solidarity visit during a very difficult period — amid severe frost and disruptions to electricity and heat supply caused by russian strikes.
“Poland has been and remains a reliable strategic partner of Ukraine. We are interested in productive cooperation and dialogue with the Polish side at all levels — parliamentary, governmental and presidential,” Olena Kondratiuk stressed.
According to her, this is evidenced by the recent visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Poland and his first official meeting with President Karol Nawrocki, which took place in a partnership-based and constructive atmosphere.
“It is important that the President of Ukraine also held a separate meeting and discussed the joint agenda with the leadership of the Sejm and the Senate of Poland,” Olena Kondratiuk noted.
The parties discussed economic cooperation, in particular preparations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in Gdańsk later this year, and emphasised the importance of intercultural and historical dialogue.
“We welcome the agreements to continue search and exhumation works in 2026. A meeting of the joint Ukrainian–Polish Forum of Historians is planned to take place in Warsaw this spring, with its work to be resumed after a long pause. We also discussed the allocation of members of the friendship group into clusters in order to intensify our cooperation in specific areas,” Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk stressed.
The participants in the meeting gave a positive assessment of the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland.
“The 14th session of the Assembly was recently held in Lviv, following which our Polish colleagues and we adopted a joint Declaration in support of a just peace for Ukraine, our accession to the EU and NATO, and the continuation of search and exhumation works,” said Olena Kondratiuk, who serves as Co-Chair of the Assembly.
The parties also separately addressed the difficult situation in Ukraine, the consequences of russia’s destructive attacks on energy infrastructure, and the strike by the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile on the Lviv region.
“The use of this weapon, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, is a clear demonstration of russia’s unwillingness to engage in peace negotiations. It is a signal of further escalation and the continuation of the war. The strike near the Polish border was carried out deliberately so that this signal would be heard in Warsaw, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, and Washington. It was a shot not only at Ukraine, but at Europe, Poland, and the United States,” Olena Kondratiuk emphasised.
The Deputy Speaker is convinced that russia is deliberately testing where NATO’s real, rather than declarative, “red line” lies. According to her, Poland is a NATO member state, and the strike effectively took place in an area of the Alliance’s direct security sensitivity.
“The kremlin is watching whether there will be mere expressions of concern or concrete steps in response. That is why we expect an effective reaction from our Polish partners and from all EU and NATO countries to the use of the Oreshnik missile. Above all, this should include strengthening Ukraine’s air defence capabilities and imposing tougher sanctions against russia. In this situation, air defence systems and interceptor missiles are not military aid, but basic survival infrastructure. This is the top priority at present,” Olena Kondratiuk noted.
The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada also expressed her gratitude to Poland for its security cooperation. In particular, she highlighted preparations for the provision of the 47th package of military assistance, joint efforts to create the “Drone Wall,” and Poland’s contribution of USD 100 million to NATO’s PURL initiative for the procurement of U.S.-made weapons to defend Ukraine.
“The position of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is also important, as he has emphasised that Warsaw will play a key role in providing logistical support to Ukraine and partner countries as part of the efforts of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’,” Olena Kondratiuk stressed.
The meeting also addressed the need for Ukraine, Poland, the EU, and the United States to speak with one voice in any peace negotiations and to jointly counter russian disinformation and propaganda.
The meeting was also attended by Members of the Polish Sejm Mariusz Popielarz and Maciej Tomczykiewicz; Co-Chairs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s Parliamentary Friendship Group with the Republic of Poland Mykola Kniazhytskyi and Artem Kovalov; and Director of the Polish Institute in Kyiv Jarosław Godun.