Andrzej Duda delivered his message on Friday, at an event to mark Local Government Day, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Test of public service
The president told the gathering at Warsaw’s Belweder Palace: “I don’t know if there was a time in our history when local governments and their officials better passed the test of their public service than recently” after Russia attacked Ukraine.
Duda added that Poland’s local officials “drew on their experience and showed a big heart” to help the country “in its historic test” of coming to Ukraine’s support.
The Polish head of state noted that local governments had to deal with a refugee wave that sometimes reached 200,000 people a day.
Test of humanity
“Poland is passing the test of our humanity, of being a good neighbour, of democratic rules,” Duda said.
He also thanked Poland's central government, including its commissioner for refugees from Ukraine, Paweł Szefernaker.
Polish-Ukrainian relationship 'for centuries'
The president said that Poland’s effort to help Ukraine amid the Russian invasion “could forge a relationship between our nations that will last for centuries.”
Friday was day 93 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Friday reported it had welcomed 3.64 million refugees fleeing Russia's war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, tvpparlament.pl