Macron confirms from Beijing: China has a key role to play in finding a path to peace

Ukrainian president visits Poland, allies intensify military aid to Kiev

Zelenskiy "Yamina" and Polish President Andrzej Duda parade the guard of honor in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in neighboring Poland yesterday in high spirits after the announcement of the latest U.S. military aid, and as Russian forces continue their long-running battle to capture the city of Pakhmot, the Kremlin said it saw no prospects for talks on Ukraine yet. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in China after agreeing with his US counterpart Joe Biden to try to engage Beijing in efforts to accelerate the end of Russia's war in Ukraine, which is now in its second year.

During his visit to the Polish capital Warsaw, the Ukrainian president said he hoped to open the border between Poland and Ukraine.

Zelensky, in a meeting with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda yesterday, said that places near the border in Poland "opened their doors and there were no borders" between the two countries, especially in the early days of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.

Zelenskiy thanked Polish President Duda and the Poles for the aid they provide "on the difficult path to the victory of Ukraine."

Zelensky said that Ukrainian refugees can "feel like they are at home" in their neighboring country and that they are not just guests thanks to the Polish people.

The Polish president announced during a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart that his country will ask during the next NATO summit in Vilnius in July for "additional security guarantees" for Ukraine.

The United States on Tuesday pledged $2.6 billion in additional military aid to Zelenskiy's government, including three aerial reconnaissance radars, anti-tank missiles and fuel trucks. Washington has so far provided more than $35 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.

Russia's TASS news agency said Moscow's embassy in Washington accused the United States of wanting to prolong the conflict as long as possible.

The new U.S. aid package comes as Ukrainian forces prepare to launch a counteroffensive in the east.

In Moscow, Russian presidential press spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the Kremlin does not see any prospects for talks on Ukraine so far, according to the Russian news agency Sputnik yesterday.

Asked how the Kremlin assesses the possibility of resuming negotiations with Kiev against the backdrop of statements that the Ukrainian president went to Poland on an official visit to discuss how to return to negotiations with Russia, with Polish President Andrzej Duda, as well as Chinese Foreign Ministry statements that China is ready to discuss the political organization of the conflict in Ukraine with the European Union, Peskov told reporters: "We don't see any possibilities for that yet, so there's nothing to add here."

French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday at the start of a state visit to China aimed at reviving dialogue with his Chinese counterpart that Beijing can "play a key role" to find a "path to peace" in Ukraine.

Macron told the French community in the Chinese capital at the start of the three-day visit: "China has proposed a peace plan ... It shows a will to take responsibility and try to forge a path to peace."

Macron warned that supporting the "aggressor" in the Ukrainian conflict means becoming "an accomplice in the violation of international law."

But the French president stressed that he would not threaten sanctions during his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday "because threat is not the appropriate way."