President marks anniversary of Smolensk air crash
Poland's president has paid tribute to the victims of the 2010 air disaster in Smolensk, western Russia, that killed then President Lech Kaczynski and his wife along with dozens of other Polish dignitaries.
At a Wednesday ceremony held in Krakow, President Andrzej Duda described the disaster, in which 96 people were killed, as "one of the most difficult, most tragic, but at the same time extremely important moments of our times."
The disaster occurred as a delegation including senior political and military personnel flew to the Russian city to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre in which tens of thousands of Polish officers were executed by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD.
Duda was in Krakow on Wednesday to remember his predecessor, Lech Kaczynski, and his wife, Maria Kaczynska, at their tombs in the crypt of the southern city's Wawel Cathedral.
"Today, once again, we pay tribute, pray for their souls, and remember those who were killed on April 10, 2010," Duda said.
The president went on to say that, "historical memory, memory of the heroes of our motherland, such as those Polish officers.... who were murdered by the Soviets at Katyn," was of "fundamental importance."
A remembrance ceremony for the victims of the Smolensk crash was also held in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Wednesday with the participation of politicians from Lech Kaczynski's Law and Justice (PiS) party, including Kaczynski's twin brother, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Earlier a special mass had been held for the victims at a nearby church.
A broken cross with red and white roses was placed on the pavement outside the Presidential Palace along with pictures of the first couple. The ceremony commenced at 08.41, the time at which the disaster occurred 14 years ago, on April 10, 2010.
Also on Wednesday, the speakers of the lower and upper houses of parliament, Szymon Holownia and Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, respectively, as well as the defence minister and deputy prime minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, and the mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, were among political figures who laid flowers at a monument to the victims at the capital's Powazki Military Cemetery. (PAP)
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