Tomasz Grodzki made the appeal after a meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada parliament, in Warsaw on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Stefanchuk is on a two-day visit to Poland that will continue on Thursday, according to officials.
Ukraine should join NATO 'as soon as possible’: Polish upper-house Speaker
Following talks with Stefanchuk, Grodzki told reporters that Poland's upper house, the Senate, “is doing everything it can to ensure that Ukraine emerges victorious from its clash with the barbarians as soon as possible” and that "this victory results in Ukraine regaining full territorial integrity.”
Grodzki told reporters that the Polish Senate had already adopted four resolutions on the war in Ukraine, the most recent of which “concerns Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership.”
He added: “Hopefully, NATO will take the next step at its July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Further steps need to be made to ensure that Ukraine joins NATO as soon as possible.”
Grodzki said that another priority for Poland is “to make sure that further steps are made towards Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.”
He stated: “We are immensely impressed that, despite the ongoing war and Russia’s cruel attacks, Ukraine is fulfilling successive requirements for accession to the EU.”
'Russian criminals must be punished'
Grodzki reiterated Poland's "unequivocal stance that Russian criminals must be punished.”
“We must also do everything to stop the crime of the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia," he told reporters.
Ukraine’s top lawmaker thanks Polish senators for backing Kyiv’s NATO bid
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Stefanchuk thanked the Polish Senate for its resolutions in support of his country “that served as a guide for other politicians.”
He added: “I would like to say a big thank you to Mr. Senate Speaker for his extraordinary personal courage in coming to Kyiv during the initial days of Russian aggression, when we had an opportunity to see together the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil.”
Stefanchuk also thanked the Polish Senate for passing a resolution to support Ukraine’s bid to become a member of NATO, the PAP news agency reported.
He said that, in many ways, "the Ukrainian army is already in NATO" and "will represent a big boost for the alliance” in the future.
Medal for 'services to the Ukrainian nation'
The Ukrainian parliamentary leader presented Poland’s Grodzki with a medal for his "services to the Ukrainian nation,” officials said.
During his meeting with Stefanchuk and at the news conference afterwards, Grodzki wore a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, the PAP news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Stefanchuk presented a similar award to Poland's lower-house Speaker Elżbieta Witek, according to officials.
Polish PM, Ukraine’s top lawmaker discuss military aid to Kyiv
While in Warsaw on Wednesday, Stefanchuk also met with Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to discuss military support for Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Poland has already supplied Ukraine with more than EUR 3 billion worth of weapons, ammunition and military equipment, the Polish Prime Minister’s Office said.
Morawiecki and Stefanchuk also talked about “the need to start Ukraine’s accession negotiations with the EU as soon as possible, and the reconstruction of Ukraine,” according to officials.
Stefanchuk thanked the Polish government for its "all-round support of Ukraine," reporters were told.
Wednesday is day 455 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
On Thursday, the top Ukrainian lawmaker is expected to address the Polish parliament.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, tvpparlament.pl