Kiev [Ukraine], April 5: Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelensky is expected in Poland on Wednesday for a rare trip abroad since Russia launched its full-scale military invasion of his country over a year ago.
Poland, meanwhile, has completed the handover of the first MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said in a radio interview on Monday.
Additional Soviet-era fighter jets are undergoing repairs in Poland to prepare for Ukrainian combat use.During his visit to Poland, Zelensky plans to meet at the Royal Castle in Warsaw with Ukrainians who have found refuge from the war in Poland, a spokesman for Polish President Andrzej Duda said in a tweet.In February, Zelensky travelled abroad for only the second time since the beginning of the war to visit London, Paris and Brussels. The first trip took him to Poland and the United States in December.
Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west, is considered an important ally of Kiev in the fight against the Russian invasion and offers shelter to many Ukrainians who have fled the conflict.
The country has been among the most enthusiastic advocates for supplying Ukraine with advanced Western weapons and has sent weapons along with numerous other European and NATO allies. Slovakia has also pledged to deliver 13 MiG-29s to Kiev, only some of which are operational.German arms maker Rheinmetall told dpa on Monday that a new maintenance and logistics centre in Romania that will service and repair Ukraine's heavy Western military equipment will open by the end of the month.
Rheinmetall said the centre should be able to service advanced Western main battle tanks like the German-built Leopard 2 and British Challenger 2 as well as armoured personnel carriers, self-propelled howitzers and military trucks. Also on Monday, Ukrainian officials rejected claims by Wagner private mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin that his troops had taken the centre of Bakhmut.
Source: Qatar Tribune