Poland’s Tusk visits Ukraine as Kremlin blames Kyiv for oil blaze

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was visiting Kyiv on Monday, his office said, his first trip to the war-torn country since returning as head of government of one of Ukraine’s most ardent EU supporters.

News of the visit came as the Kremlin blamed Ukraine for an attack on a Baltic gas terminal over the weekend, the latest in a series of apparent Ukrainian aerial attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

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The visit is the latest in a flurry from European leaders aiming to reassure Ukraine of their support at a time when Kyiv’s biggest political and military backers have struggled to secure aid.

“Prime Minister Donald Tusk has travelled to Kyiv on January 22,” his press service said, adding that Tusk would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.

Since returning as Poland’s head of government in December, Tusk has said that the war in Ukraine “is question number one for Polish security”.

He has also vowed to continue Poland’s steadfast support of its eastern neighbour following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

“Other questions must also be discussed, notably those linked to interests of Polish truckers, so there are things to discuss in Kyiv,” he said.

– Drone barrage –

Polish truckers blocked the border with Ukraine from November until last week, demanding the reintroduction of restrictions to enter the EU for their Ukrainian competitors.

The EU had waived the permits system after Russia invaded, but Polish truckers want it reintroduced, saying the move has hit their earnings.

Shmygal welcomed Tusk to Kyiv and they toured a memorial for soldiers killed during the conflict.

“We are grateful for the support of our partners who stand side by side with the Ukrainian people in this war,” Shmygal said on social media.

Just hours before Warsaw announced the visit, Kyiv said Russian forces had attacked Ukraine with eight Iranian-designed attack drones but that its air defence systems had repelled the barrage.

Officials in Kyiv have said that gaining control of the country’s airspace is a priority for this year, and urged the West to supply more air defence systems.

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Ukraine’s air force said Russian forces had launched the drones from the southern Primorsko-Akhtarsk region. It added that the drones had been downed by defence systems in southern and central regions of Ukraine.

There were no immediate reports of damage caused by falling debris.

The attack comes in the wake of several aerial assaults on border regions of Russia that have targeted oil storage facilities.

Sources in Ukraine’s security sector have claimed responsibility for some of those attacks to AFP, but Kyiv and the Ukrainian military have remained tight-lipped on attacks inside Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday however blamed Kyiv for a blaze over the weekend at the port of Ust-Luga near Saint Petersburg.

– Frontline strikes –

“The Kyiv regime continues to show its bestial face. They are striking civil infrastructure, people,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday when asked about a blaze at the natural gas terminal.

Operator Novatek had said the fire was caused by an “external factor,” without elaborating.

Even though the sprawling front line cutting through eastern and southern Ukraine has barely shifted in the last year, Russian forces have continued to pound towns and villages near the fighting.

AFP journalists on Monday morning saw the body of one person killed in a strike on the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk at around 0730 GMT.

The strike rocked an industrial area on the eastern outskirts of the town in the Donetsk region, which the Kremlin says is part of Russia.

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AFP reporters on the scene saw debris strewn on the street beneath an administrative building with a destroyed roof and windows blown out by the strike.

The body of a man killed in the blast lay at the wheel of his car — its front left door open — on another street next to the damaged building.

Police ushered bystanders from the scene, warning of a potential follow-up attack.

The regional governor said the victim was a 49-year-old man and that his 31-year-old daughter was also wounded in the attack.

© Agence France-Presse