On Easter Monday, Polish President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to the late presidential couple who tragically died in an air disaster near Smolensk, Russia, 13 years ago. During the commemorative ceremony, President Duda remembered the late president and first lady for their strong commitment to the Polish nation.
Speaking about the late presidential couple and all the people who died in the air crash, Duda said that “they were people of merit who had done much for Poland.”
Having expressed regret that they could not continue their work for the homeland, Duda declared that “we have been doing our best to continue their projects, I hope, just like they wanted to.”
President Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of senior government officials and commanders of the Polish armed forces were tragically killed in a plane crash on April 10, 2010. The aircraft was attempting to land at a military airfield near Smolensk, in western Russia, when it crashed at 8:41 a.m.
The delegation was on its way to nearby Katyn to attend events marking the 70th anniversary of the 1940 Katyn Massacre, in which close to 22,000 Polish POWs, mainly army officers, policemen and administrative staff, were murdered at the hands of the Soviets.
Law and Justice, the ruling party in Poland, has announced that the main commemorations of the Smolensk air crash anniversary will take place on Sunday, April 16. This decision was made due to the fact that April 10 falls on Easter Monday this year.