Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski arrived in Kyiv on Friday for talks on security, just days after a drone raid into Poland raised concerns over the spillover of Russia’s war.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha shared a photo of the two officials meeting at a train station in Kyiv, writing on X:
“Against the backdrop of Russia’s escalation of terror against Ukraine and provocations against Poland, we stand firmly together. We will hold substantial talks today about our shared security, Ukraine’s EU and NATO accession, and pressure on Moscow.”
The visit comes as Russia and Belarus – both bordering Poland – launched major joint military drills early Friday. Earlier this week, Poland and NATO allies scrambled jets and shot down at least three of more than a dozen Russian drones crossing Polish airspace.
While Moscow denied targeting Poland, Sikorski stressed on X: “On the night that 19 Russian drones crossed into Poland, 400 – and 40 missiles – flew over Ukraine. These were not mistakes.”
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also arrived in Ukraine Friday and is scheduled to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky to reaffirm Britain’s support, including a £142 million winter aid package.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Kyiv at the invitation of the Ukrainian government, saying he wanted to do “everything possible” to help rehabilitate Ukrainian servicemen injured in the war.
Speaking to The Guardian on the overnight train to Kyiv, he said: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process. We can continue to humanize the people involved in this war and what they are going through. We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds.”
Harry was invited by Olha Rudnieva, founder of the Superhumans Trauma Center in Lviv, which treats soldiers with amputations.
He added: “I bumped into Olha in New York. It was a chance meeting and I asked her what I could do to help. She said ‘the biggest impact you have is coming to Kyiv.’ I had to check with my wife and the British government to make sure it was OK. Then the official invitation came. In Lviv, you don’t see much of the war. It is so far west. This is the first time we will see the real destruction of the war.”
During the visit, Harry will also tour the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, meet 200 veterans, and hold talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
The high-profile visits coincided with renewed Russian bombardments in Sumy, where two people were killed and five wounded in early Friday strikes.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, between 22:00 on Thursday, Sept. 11, and the morning of Friday, Sept. 12, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine using 40 UAVs, including Shahed and Gerbera drones, with over 20 identified as Shaheds.
The assault was countered by Ukraine’s anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare and drone units, and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
“According to preliminary data, as of 09:00, air defense had shot down or suppressed 33 enemy UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera type, and other drones across northern, eastern, and central Ukraine,” the report stated.
Despite these defenses, six UAVs managed to strike three locations.