New Polish premier says will push West to support Ukraine

WARSAW

Poland’s new prime minister, Donald Tusk, said in his inaugural speech to parliament in Warsaw on Tuesday that his incoming government will push for the West to increase its support for Ukraine against Russia.

“We will demand full mobilization of the West to help Ukraine. I can no longer listen to politicians who talk about being tired of the situation in Ukraine,” he said. “The attack on Ukraine is an attack on all of us. We also need to speak with one voice about Ukraine. This must also unite us,” he added.

Tusk will become prime minister on Wednesday, when his government is sworn in by the president.

With much of the world now focused on the conflict in Gaza, voices in the US and Hungary have been talking about reducing support for Ukraine. Tusk, who headed European Council from 2014-2019, travels to Brussels this week for a summit of EU leaders.

“In a few dozen hours, I will be going to Brussels, hoping that we will convince our allies to defend democratic values and Ukraine against Russian aggression,” Tusk added. “Only a united West can help Ukraine win in the fight for democratic values. By some strange coincidence, politicians who attack the foundations of democracy are anti-Ukrainian."

“We must remember what the war is about. That Ukrainians are fighting for something extremely important, that their fight began on Maidan, that they are fighting to join the Western world community. Poland's help to Ukraine is crucial, but at the same time we must remain assertive when it comes to the interests of, among others, Polish farmers,” Tusk said, in a reference to the outgoing government’s bans on Ukrainian grain.