Polish, Czech, Slovak PMs call on world to stand by Ukraine - press

Mateusz Morawicki, Petr Fiala and Eduard Heger wrote in the bimonthly that if Ukraine loses its war against Russia, the rest of Central Europe could be next.

To prevent this, they said, Ukraine must be supported until Russian forces "withdraw from its territory entirely, putting a definitive end to the Kremlin's revanchism and imperialism." Anything less, they asserted, would be "like issuing an open invitation to all authoritarian lunatics who think that it is OK to invade their neighbors."

The three heads of government argued that a frozen conflict would not be a viable option as this is Moscow's preferred modus operandi for buying time so it can "regroup and rebuild its forces while continuing to wage political warfare and export its imperial ideology," something they said the Kremlin had been doing for years.

The prime ministers wrote that their countries have hundreds of years of experience of Russia's "revanchism, totalitarianism, occupation, deportations and massacres," which is why they had been sounding the alarm well in advance of Moscow's February 24, 2022, invasion of its western neighbour.

The three said that the war had "injected new energy into the transatlantic alliance" with many Nato members now doing more to enhance their defence and deterrence capacity than ever before, something they said would be continued at the alliance's Vilnius summit in July.

"Now is not the time to lessen in our resolve," they wrote. "We must continue to stand by Ukraine without qualification or reservation."

Morawiecki, Fiala and Heger welcomed the International Criminal Court's indictment of Vladiimir Putin, and called for a special tribunal to be established to try Russian war crimes. They also called on Nato to set out a "clear and credible path for Ukraine's membership" at its July summit. (PAP)