Mateusz Morawiecki made the remark at the close of a European Union summit in Brussels, Belgium on Friday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
During the two-day get-together, EU leaders accepted Ukraine and Moldova as candidates to join the bloc.
EU candidate status for Ukraine
The Polish prime minister told reporters that the decision was agreed upon thanks to “a wide-reaching diplomatic drive, political talks, especially by Poland.”
“Ukraine has been given a banner of hope; it has a hope of joining the EU, which is enormously important,” he added.
Morawiecki stated: “This is a strategic and very profound change that will lead to the liberation of Ukraine from the hands of Russian soldiers in the shortest possible time. Hopefully, they will leave Ukrainian territory soon.”
He thanked Polish President Andrzej Duda for his efforts to persuade EU partners to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine.
Morawiecki also said he had been in frequent contact with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal and President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as with fellow European prime ministers with regard to the issue.
“I know perfectly well how important, how groundbreaking this is,” he said about the EU summit’s conclusions.
EUR 9 billion in financial assistance for Ukraine
Morawiecki said that the bloc’s leaders had agreed to provide Ukraine with EUR 9 billion in financial assistance to fund basic state services, as well as with further military support.
Morawiecki also voiced hope that Poland would be able to persuade fellow EU member states to adopt effective policies to combat “Putinflation, the energy crisis and the food crisis.”
Friday was day 121 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP