Warsaw pledges to help equip Ukrainian brigades – Polish PM
Source: Office of the Ukrainian President
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk told his Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that Warsaw will soon roll out the project aimed at equipping Ukrainian brigades.
Tusk added that he will discuss this initiative with other European partners, including the Baltic and Nordic countries.
Their meeting also focused on expectations for Poland’s upcoming presidency of the European Union Council next year and cooperation in supplying weapons for Ukraine’s defense on the frontlines.
President Zelensky thanked Poland for its support and assistance, particularly in Ukraine’s aspirations to become a full-fledged NATO member.
“Poland understands how crucial it is for security in this part of Europe to be truly guaranteed and for there to be no geopolitical uncertainty,” Zelensky said.
Tusk stressed that Ukraine can always count on Poland’s support, especially in its journey toward integration into the EU and NATO.
“Our shared history is both complex and remarkable. There have been many positives and challenges in our relations, but this is a story of peoples who, in times of trial, have understood the historical moment. Russia’s aggression, Poland’s assistance to Ukraine, and Ukraine’s fight—these are monumental acts that have brought our nations closer together,” the Prime Minister remarked.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.