Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski visits Kyiv during Russian strikes and prepares 50 million euro aid

Unannounced arrival during air raids

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski arrived in Kyiv on Friday morning, 11 September 2026, for an unannounced working visit. His train reached the central railway station during a morning of Russian aerial bombardments targeting the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv municipal authorities initially issued a yellow alert across the city to announce incoming drone attacks before elevating the warning to a red alert due to approaching missile strikes. Russian strikes on the capital killed two people on Friday morning, and reporters in the city centre heard loud explosions shortly after the Polish delegation arrived. Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar, accompanied by Ukrainian government representatives, received the Polish foreign minister on the platform as air raid sirens sounded.

Military aid and diplomatic messaging

Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór confirmed the purpose of the unannounced mission, describing it as an explicit demonstration of political and material solidarity with Ukraine under fire.

The more Russia attacks, the more we need to support Ukraine.

The visit coincides with concrete military aid decisions finalized in Warsaw. Poland is assembling a new military assistance package valued at 50 million euros, dedicated primarily to supplying air defence assets and munitions. Polish Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced the aid initiative following a virtual meeting of the international Ukraine defence contact group on Tuesday, 8 September 2026. Sikorski confirmed his arrival by publishing the message "Good morning from Kyiv" on the social media platform X while sirens echoed across the city.

Agricultural trade and Solidarity Lanes

Diplomatic exchanges in Kyiv also addressed logistics, trade infrastructure, and the movement of Ukrainian agricultural produce toward Western markets. Two European Union diplomats confirmed that Polish and Ukrainian officials reviewed plans to increase the capacity of the European Union Solidarity Lanes. These overland road and railway transit corridors provide alternative trade routes for Ukrainian exports while Russian naval forces sustain a blockade across the Black Sea. The Polish government maintains backing for Ukrainian transit but seeks measures to prevent negative economic fallout for Polish farming and transport sectors. Bilateral relations have stabilized after earlier disagreements concerning the handling of shared historical issues cooled in recent months.

Border security and eastern flank tensions

The security of transit routes along the border between Poland and Ukraine remains a central priority for both administrations. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russian forces and intelligence services pose ongoing threats to critical border infrastructure. Tusk stated that Polish security agencies successfully disrupted an attempted operation targeting a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine. Polish authorities anticipate additional hostile provocations along NATO's eastern flank designed to interrupt the flow of Western supplies, reinforcing the need for tight coordination between Warsaw and Kyiv.