Poland's Deputy PM calls for int'l peace mission for Ukraine with 'means to defend itself'

An international peacekeeping mission should be sent to operate in Ukraine, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on Tuesday during a press conference in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I think it is necessary to have a peace mission -- NATO or possibly some wider international structure -- but a mission that will be able to defend itself, which will operate on Ukrainian territory," Kaczynski, who is also the leader of the Law and Justice Party, said on Tuesday. As of now, no country or global organisation has made a direct interference in the conflict but the west has increasingly used trade embargoes and sanctions to pressurise the Kremlin to abandon what it brands as its “special military mission” in Ukraine.  

Alongside Kaczynski, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovenia- Petr Fiala and Janez Jansa also visited the Ukrainian capital in a blatant show of solidarity. During the press conference, all the leaders noted that the majority of Ukrainian territory still remains under the control of the Zelenskyy administration. Interestingly, the presence of Kaczynski also held a symbolic significance. He is the twin of the late President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in Russia, along with 95 other Poles in 2010. While an investigation into the crash revealed that it was an accident, Kaczynski continues to claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a role in deaths.

'NATO has no intention of accepting us': Zelenskyy

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has softened his stance on Ukraine joining NATO. Speaking in London earlier this week, he said, “NATO has no intention of accepting us.” Kyiv dropping its bid to join the North Atlantic military organisation is one of the main demands of Russia along with demilitarisation and acceptance of neutral status. The invasion has continued for three weeks now, with Russian troops now only 15 kilometres from the centre of Kyiv, according to Associated Press.

Meanwhile, as the conflict continues, the Ukrainian Parliament has said that the country's agricultural machinery is being used by Russian troops for engineering work, construction and armoured tractors. Furthermore, the Russian troops have forcibly involved the local residents of the occupied regions in the work. Moreover, Moscow continued with its bombardment on the outskirts of Kyiv.

(Image: AP)