Ukraine will never stand alone, president tells democracy summit
The West will not abandon Ukraine, because the Ukrainians are fighting for us all, Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, told the 2nd Summit for Democracy on Wednesday.
The virtual summit, co-hosted by US President Joe Biden, focuses on the challenges to the world's democracies posed by the growing global influence of autocracies.
In his address to the summit, Duda said Ukraine "never has, and never will stand alone."
"Ukraine is fighting on behalf of and for us all," Duda said, while also warning that Russia could "go much further" if it is not stopped.
Duda went on to say that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine Poland has accepted more Ukrainian refugees than any other European country. He added that most of the refugees found help in private households and not refugee camps.
"Today Poland is home to over 3.5 million Ukrainians," he said, adding that the Polish government has to date spent over USD 9 billion on humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
"Poland will continue to support Ukraine to halt Russian imperialism," Duda declared. He went on to say that Poland will also continue aiding democratic forces in Belarus.
According to a US official, the Biden administration will also announce new measures aimed at countering the abuse and misuse of technology, including a "joint commitment" with foreign partners "to counter the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware."
