By Barbara Erling and Olena Harmash
WARSAW, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Ukraine can help Poland develop anti-drone technology, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said during a visit to Warsaw on Friday, as he and his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki stressed the countries’ unity on security matters.
Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest backers since Russia’s invasion in 2022, but with hostility to refugees rising in Poland and far-right parties there saying Warsaw has gone too far in supporting Kyiv, relations between the neighbours have become more tense.
“Ukraine offers Poland consultations regarding defence from drones,” Zelenskiy told a news conference. “We know how to defend ourselves from every existing type of Russian drone which can be used against our neighbours, against Poland or other nations.”
He said Kyiv could also offer co-operation in maritime security, adding that he had invited Nawrocki to Ukraine to see the country’s defence manufacturing capabilities.
Developing defences against drones has become a top priority for countries on NATO’s eastern flank since the incursion of some 20 Russian drones into Poland in September and a spate of other drone incidents in countries including Romania, Denmark and Germany.
In September, Ukraine’s defence minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukrainian troops and engineers would train their Polish counterparts in a joint group on countering drones.
Nawrocki said that Zelenskiy’s visit demonstrated the unity between Ukraine and Poland on security matters and added that he believed Warsaw would be able to finalise an exchange of MiG-29 fighter jets for anti-drone technology from Ukraine.
(Reporting by Barbara Erling, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw; Olena Harmash, Max Hunder in Kyiv; Writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Susan Fenton)
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