Polish Senate adopts resolution in support of Ukraine’s membership in NATO

On Thursday, Poland's Senate (upper house of the parliament) adopted a resolution that supported Ukraine's membership in NATO.

The decision was made unanimously, Ukrinform reports.

The document says Ukraine, which has been opposing Russia for a year in the Kremlin-instigated war, "defends Europe and is a key link in the continent's defense against aggression from the East."

"Today, Ukraine has the strongest army on the continent with extraordinary combat experience. The Ukrainian army is rapidly switching to NATO equipment and using operational art and tactics developed over decades among Western allies," the resolution reads.

The resolution says that Ukrainian defenders need "real support" thanks to deepening military and political cooperation with NATO countries.

Polish senators said Ukraine should receive "much more than the previous declarations about the open door policy during the NATO summit in Vilnius."

At the same time, the document emphasizes that this summit should become "an important stage of Ukraine's preparation for full membership in the Alliance."

"The Senate of the Republic of Poland believes that Ukraine's accession to NATO should be a political decision, as in the case of Finland and Sweden, resulting from an analysis of strategic challenges and threats beyond the Alliance's eastern border," the resolution reads.

The senators emphasized that Russia presents its aggression against Ukraine as a defense against NATO.

"So if Russia defeats Ukraine, it will not stop at its western border," Polish politicians are convinced, adding that the allies identified this threat at the NATO summit in Madrid last June.

"Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia correctly assessed the Russian threat. Most of the European capitals are only now recognizing our rightness," the Polish senators emphasized.

The resolution states that Finland and Sweden have been invited to join NATO in a procedure that has never been used before. Although Sweden remains outside the Alliance's structures, the Allies have decided to protect it.

"The Senate of Poland calls on NATO member states to apply a similar emergency procedure to Ukraine," the document says.

It also expresses support for the demands of countries bordering Russia for solid security guarantees for Ukraine, as well as "defining a path to its membership along with strengthening political ties between NATO and Kyiv."

As reported, the NATO summit will be held on July 11-12 in Vilnius. On September 30, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky, Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk Chairman, and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal signed Ukraine's application for accelerated accession to NATO.