Duda and Baltic presidents visit war-torn town in Ukraine
Poland's president has visited a Ukrainian town near Kyiv that suffered a huge level of destruction following Russia's invasion.
President Duda, along with the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, went to the town of Borodyanka on Wednesday to witness first-hand the damage inflicted on Ukraine by Russia’s armed forces.
"They saw the world that Russia offers to nations around it; there are no words for it," said Jakub Kumoch, Duda’s chief foreign policy advisor.
He also posted pictures on Twitter showing the damage the town had sustained. Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform has reported that around 200 Borodyanka residents are missing.
Duda, Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuania’s president, and the presidents of Latvia and Estonia, Egils Levits and Alar Karis, also travelled to Ukraine to meet the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
It is the first visit to Ukraine by heads of state since the outbreak of war. Presidents Duda and Nauseda last visited Zelensky the day before Russia invaded.
In mid-March, Poland's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, visited Kyiv with the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, meeting both Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Last week, the Ukrainian capital was visited by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell. The pair also visited the town of Bucha, 20 kilometres from Kyiv, where the Russian army is accused of committing war crimes.
Britain's prime minister, Boris Johnson, also visited Kyiv last week.
