Leopards for Ukraine. President Andrzej Duda comments during a visit to the Czech Republic

In the Czech Náchod on the border with Poland, a meeting of President AAndrzej Duda with the ten-year-old president Czech Milos Zeman. A press conference was held after the meeting.

One of the questions was about handover Ukraine by Poland of Leopard tanks and the positions of other countries on the supply of equipment.

– The Czech Republic has already handed over T-72 tanks to Ukraine, partly modernized. These are Soviet-made tanks that Ukrainians know and know how to handle, pointed out President Zeman.

President Duda pointed out that the decisions to hand over the tanks to Ukraine are not easy. – For us in Poland, it is not an easy decision either, contrary to what someone may think or what someone will say. We are currently at the stage of purchasing modern tanks, and Leopard tanks are part of our modern tank fleet – he pointed out.

“This is a problematic decision for us,” he said. However, he reminded that the Ukrainian side had requested it. – The prime minister turned to our prime minister Mateusz Morawieckias well as the president Volodymyr Zelensky he also asked me directly to hand over these tanks, even in a small amount, he pointed out. Therefore – as Duda continued – Poland decided to transfer “approximately a tank company (i.e. about 14 – ed.) to the Ukrainian side, of course juxtaposing it with the issue of the initiative to collect a larger tank detachment, a larger unit, from allies who have tanks in their armies leopard”.

Andrzej Duda explained that it was about “a collection of tanks, at least a brigade of Leopard tanks, to give them together to Ukraine as a gift from allies.” – This process is ongoing. Poland officially asked the German side for permission to transfer these tanks. I know that the German side is also considering this issue all the time, there are various political discussions going on there – he pointed out. Earlier, “Spiegel” reported that the chancellor German Olaf Scholz decided to send the Leopards to Ukraine and allowing other countries such as Poland to do so.

– Countries that have a larger number of these tanks and are allies in the literal sense of the word, i.e. NATO membership, and – I hope – close NATO membership, there are at least a few in the European area – he noted. – I hope that more tanks for Ukraine will be collected. We have no particular doubts that the time of the Russian offensive is approaching, which is the result of the mobilization ordered a few months ago by the Russian authorities in order to crush Ukraine, the Polish president noted. Ukraine – as he emphasized – must be able to defend itself against the force of “perhaps several hundred thousand mobilized Russian soldiers, with better or worse equipment.”

“There is no doubt that in view of this huge mass of the Russian army, Ukraine today needs modern equipment so that the defenders of Ukraine are able to cope with the extremely important task of repelling another Russian onslaught,” the president noted.

– In Poland, we believe that it is necessary to help the Ukrainian defenders at all costs, and therefore we appeal to the allies to provide this help to Ukraine. Thank you to everyone who made these decisions. I know the decision was made by the British government. I know that this decision was also announced by President Emmanuel Macron – he continued.

Andrzej Duda expressed hope that as a result of the action that Poland has taken, not only Leopards from Poland will go to Ukraine, but that “a brigade of Leopards will be gathered among the allies and will go to Ukraine.”

Earlier, President Duda spoke about relations with the outgoing President Zeman.

– I can confidently say that it is a very nice and good acquaintance, for which I thank the President very much. I also thank him for sharing his vast political experience over the years, which he has from many functions he has held over the course of – I can safely say – decades of Czech politics – said Andrzej Duda.

The president expressed his gratitude that he and his wife were received by the Czech presidential couple at the end of Zeman’s service as president of the Czech Republic. He emphasized that during his presidency, they not only worked very well together, but also got to know each other well as people. – And I hope that Mr. President is not going into political retirement in the full sense of the word, but that his voice will continue to be heard in the sphere of both Czech and European and transatlantic politics, because it is certainly an important voice and in any case worth to be heard and taken into account when considering various issues, Duda added.

During the farewell meeting in the Czech Náchod, the presidents also discussed bilateral cooperation, primarily in the border region, and participated in discussions with local government officials from both sides of the border. Andrzej Duda drew attention to the role of local governments in the areas of the Nysa and Glaciensis euroregions. – I said in this discussion that the local government has two issues here that are certainly keeping it awake at night. On the one hand, everyone really wants these roads to be built, these communication routes between Poland and the Czech Republic to be connected, and to make it possible to travel efficiently. But on the other hand, the concern at the time of their merger is that potential tourists and customers do not bypass this region, do not go further, but stop, so the question is: how to attract them? – said President Duda.

After the discussion at the town hall in Nachod, the presidents and their spouses visited Kudowa, located on the Polish border. There they talked over a dinner that was held without the participation of the media.