Andrzej Duda
Photo: PAP/Marek Mateusz

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the crash of Tu-154 near Smolensk.

The President of Poland Andrzej Duda honored the memory of victims of the Smolensk catastrophe. “To this day we suffer because of the loss of these unique individuals that we owe,” wrote the head of state in Facebook, reports “Polish radio”.

“I find it hard to believe it’s been 10 years since that day, as I learned this crushing news about the crash at the airport in Smolensk. Many of the 96 people who died that were close to me, including the President of Poland, Professor Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria Kaczynska, – wrote the President. “They’re gone – reminded Andrzej Duda, in their duty to the Polish officers, Katyn victims, murdered in 1940”.

“Today it is impossible to say what happened and why, in particular, because in the beginning have been taken such decisions. I totally understand the decision, why the flight of the Polish delegation to Smolensk on military aircraft operated by a military crew of the 36th Special transport aviation regiment of the armed forces of Poland, was recognized as a civilian. In this regard, was not applied the bilateral agreement between Poland and the Russian Federation concerning emergencies and disasters, military aircraft, and used the “Chicago Convention” – the Convention on international civil aviation. This greatly worsened our situation in the investigation of the causes of the disaster. I believe that this was also the reason that until today, in Poland there is no black boxes, wreckage and all of this is in Russia, although it is the property of Poland”, – commented the head of the state investigation into the causes of the crash of the presidential plane Tu-154M.

The members of the Presidium of the Sejm of Poland also honored the memory of victims of the Smolensk catastrophe. At 8.00 a.m. the speaker of the Sejm elżbieta Witek, Vice-speakers Malgorzata Kidava-Blonska, małgorzata Gosiewska, Piotr Zgorzelski laid flowers in front of the memorial table, dedicated to the tragically deceased President Lech Kaczynski, speaker of the Sejm III convocation Maciej Elaginskogo and parliamentarians.

Friday, April 10, marks the 10th anniversary of the crash of Tu-154 near Smolensk. The main part of the remembrance events will be held in Warsaw in a more modest than usual, the shape of the pandemic coronavirus.

April 10, 2010 plane crash killed 96 people including the President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczynski with wife Maria Kaczynski, the last Polish President in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski, Deputy speaker of the Sejm and the Senate, deputies, commanders of the armed forces, senior officials, members of the clergy, members of the Katyn families, as well as the crew. The delegation flew to the mourning events on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. The tragedy happened at 8.41 p.m. of Central European summer time close to the airport “Northern”.