Duda awards Zelensky with Order of White Eagle during state visit

Polish President Andrzej Duda awarded President Volodymyr Zelensky with the Order of the White Eagle during his visit to Warsaw on April 5, the Polish Press Agency reported.

According to the press agency, Zelensky received the award "in recognition of his contributions to deepening the relations between Poland and Ukraine, his efforts towards enhancing security, and his unwavering commitment to human rights."

"It is difficult to hide the tears of emotion watching your service to your homeland," Duda told Zelensky, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency.

"You have not abandoned either Ukraine or your countrymen. You are an exemplary leader of the state and nation," Duda added.

Marcin Przydacz, the head of the Polish President's International Policy Office, said that Zelensky and Duda would discuss "the entire spectrum" of Polish-Ukrainian relations, the Polish Press Agency wrote.

"Today there is a need to strengthen this unity because Russian propaganda naturally tries to break our cooperation," Przydacz said, as quoted by the Polish Press agency.

Poland has been a transit hub for weapons supplied by allies to Ukraine. On March 27, the Polish Military Counterintelligence Service announced that it had detained a foreigner suspected of spying for Russia.

On March 16, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski confirmed that Warsaw had broken up a Russian espionage network, detaining nine people allegedly preparing sabotage acts and monitoring rail routes to Ukraine.

Poland has also supplied Ukraine with substantial aid since the start of the full-scale invasion. On April 3, Poland delivered the first batch of MiG-29 fighter jets that it had pledged to Ukraine.