President Volodymyr Zelenskyi introduced the Rescuer City Award for partner cities that have helped and are helping Ukrainians and Ukraine. The Polish city of Rzeszow was the first to be awarded this title.
This was stated by the President during a speech in the Verkhovna Rada.
"Before this speech, I signed a decree noting the special role of the Polish city of Rzeszow. I have introduced a special honorary title "Rescuer City" for the cities — partners of our state, which today do the impossible to help us, to help our people, to help our army. On behalf of the entire Ukrainian nation, I would like to express my gratitude to the city of Rzeszów, the first "Rescuer City," Zelensky said.
Zelensky also announced an agreement to introduce joint border and customs control, and later a single conditional border, when Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union.
Zelensky also thanked Polish President Andrzej Duda for his readiness to visit European capitals together with Slovak President Zuzana Chaputova to lobby for Ukraineʼs EU membership.
The head of state also thanked Polish artists, sportsmen, clergy and other people who support Ukrainians. The President noted the decision of the Polish Sejm, which gives refugees from Ukraine almost the same rights and opportunities as Polish citizens.
"This is a big step, a great gesture of a great soul, which only a great friend of Ukraine is capable of. And this step will not remain unilateral. I believe that in the near future we should submit a similar, mirror bill to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. God forbid that Polish citizens will ever need all this help in such conditions, in conditions of war. But these laws are of great symbolic significance, they show that Ukrainians and Poles are native and equal. And I am confident that the Ukrainian parliamentary corps will support this law quickly and, I am convinced, by a majority vote," Zelensky said.
For his part, Duda assured the Verkhovna Rada that Poland would never leave Ukraine alone. He stressed that the free world today has the face of Ukraine.
"I believe that this new friendship between millions of Ukrainians and Poles will lead to the fact that we will be good neighbors forever. This is a great historical chance, "said the Polish president. Duda expressed confidence that Ukraine will receive the status of a candidate for EU membership, and will eventually become a member of the European Union.