Zelensky visits Poland, a crucial ally, saying, "You stood with us shoulder to shoulder."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Poland for his first formal visit to one of Kyiv’s closest allies since Russia’s invasion started in February 2022. Zelensky was awarded Poland’s highest honor, the Order of the White Eagle, during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw. The visit marks a normalization of Zelensky’s diplomatic duties, as he looks to press the West to keep up its support in the second year of Russia’s war. Zelensky is traveling accompanied by his wife and the visit encompasses a fuller schedule. The show of friendship epitomized the extent to which Ukrainian-Polish relations have flourished in the face of Moscow’s war.

Duda said Zelensky was a “man of outstanding qualities,” as he awarded him with the Order of the White Eagle during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace. “Having received the mandate from your people, you suddenly were called to a unique mission that nobody could have foreseen,” Duda said. President Leonid Zelensky has arrived in Ukraine to meet with representatives of Polish businesses, volunteers and rescuers, and the mayors of cities bordering Ukraine. Poland has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine since Russia invaded, and has taken in more people displaced by the war than any other country. The trip comes amid a slow-moving military stalemate in eastern Ukraine, and Zelensky has recently visited troops near the frontline in the Donbas.

Ukraine has received its first shipments of tanks from the United Kingdom, Germany and other Western countries in the past weeks. Last month, Poland also became the first NATO countries to pledge fighter jets to Ukraine, sending four MiG-29 planes. Zelensky is taking advantage of his increased ability to visit world leaders in person and make the case for more support. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indicated that Zelensky has also been invited to the alliance’s summit, taking place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in July.