The leaders of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic took a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv (Kiev? irdk) today.
Mateusz Morawiecki (Poland), Janez Janša (Slovenia) and Pete Fiala (Czechia) met with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky on Tuesday to express continued European support for his country.
The trip is significant for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Kyiv is extremely dangerous right now. As difficult as it is to confirm reporting from the fog of war, President Zelensky and other top military brass have noted Kyiv, rather than facing a traditional front line, is essentially being shelled from all sides.
Mind you, by placing themselves in the line of fire the NATO member state PMs are risking more than just their own lives. A death of any one of the three at Russian hands would immediately invoke NATO treaty article 5, “the commitment clause”, requiring each member state of the treaty organization to take up arms against Russia. In essence, World War III.
The second reason this trip is so remarkable is the rhetoric invoked by the leaders, particularly by Slovenian PM Janša.
This thread exemplifies the exact type of “Ukraine is more European than Soviet” language that many have argued led to Putin’s initial acts of war in the first place.
This meeting appears to be a precursor to the upcoming (& unprecedented) NATO meeting in Brussels slated for the 24th, which US President Joe Biden is scheduled to attend.
As of the writing of this article, the NATO leaders appear to be safe and sound within Kyiv. But the situation should be closely monitored by all interested parties, including the United States
