During his visit to Kyiv, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky laid wreaths at the Wall of Remembrance for the Fallen for Ukraine. The memorial honors Ukrainian volunteers, soldiers, and members of the uniformed services who died in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The memorial is located on the wall of the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, at Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv. Unveiled in 2017, the wall features photographs and brief biographies of thousands who have died in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
“This morning, I had the pleasure of welcoming a true friend of Ukraine, Andrzej Duda, at Kyiv Central Station. President Duda stood with Ukraine during the most difficult times of Russia’s full-scale aggression,” wrote Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha on platform X, posting photos of the meeting at the station.
“We are grateful to him and to all Poles who have shown true solidarity with Ukraine. Our guest will join us in celebrating Ukraine’s Constitution Day and will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced.
This is one of several visits President Duda has made to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Alongside the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, he visited Kyiv on February 23, 2022—one day before the invasion began—and again in May and August of that year, in late June 2023 ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius, and in August 2023 for the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.
Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also extended its wishes on the occasion of Ukraine’s Constitution Day. “On Constitution Day, we express our solidarity with Ukraine, especially in the face of its heroic struggle for freedom and independence. We wish that the democratic values at the heart of Ukraine’s Constitution may soon be restored in the currently occupied territories,” the ministry wrote on platform X.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Poland’s President Andrzej Duda the Order of Freedom for his contributions to strengthening bilateral international cooperation, according to a decree published Saturday on the official website of the Office of the President of Ukraine.