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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday accused Russia of planning acts of "air terror" against airlines worldwide, including sabotage and diversion operations on Polish soil.
Tusk made those remarks during talks in Warsaw with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as almost a month after an Azerbaijani Airlines passenger plane crashed in western Kazakhstan after unsuccessfully trying to land in southern Russia.
"All I can say, and I will not go into details, but I can confirm the validity of these fears, is that Russia had planned acts of air terror, and not only against Poland, but against airlines all over the world," Tusk told reporters.
While it was not immediately clear what incidents the Polish prime minister was referencing, authorities in Azerbaijan have accused the Russian military of shooting at Azerbaijani Airlines Flight 8432 as it tried to land in the city of Grozny last month. Moscow has provided various explanations for the crash, which happened near Aktau, Kazakhstan, and killed 38 people.
Meanwhile, Tusk also pledged to accelerate Ukraine’s EU accession process as Poland holds the bloc's rotating presidency.
"The Polish presidency will break the impasse that has been evident in recent months," Tusk said. "And we will work together with Ukraine and our European partners... to speed up the accession process as much as possible," he added.
Zelensky echoed the urgency, emphasizing the importance of Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO.
"The sooner Ukraine is in the EU, the sooner Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, the more we interact, the sooner the whole of Europe will get the geopolitical certainty it needs," the Ukrainian president said.
"Russia will not pass where there is our integration, our common strength, our respect," Zelensky added.
AFP contributed reporting.
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