The prime ministers of Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic have arrived safely in Poland back from their trip to Kyiv where they met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Tuesday evening, a Polish government's spokesman has tweeted.

"The delegations of Poland, Slovenia and Czechia have returned safely from Kyiv to Poland," Piotr Müller tweeted.

Prime Minister Janez Janša and his Polish and Czech counterparts, Mateusz Morawiecki and Petr Fiala, were the first foreign leaders to visit Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. They travelled by train.

Zelensky thanked the trio for the "strong sign of support". The three prime ministers told reporters after the meeting they had come to express support for Ukraine's fight for freedom and democracy.

"We're here to admire your courage and your fight, which is destroying the myth of the invincible Russian army," Janša said, adding that Ukraine was defending not just its territory but also fundamental European values.

He pledged they would do everything in their power to help Ukraine, including securing its status as EU candidate as soon as possible.

Delegacje 🇵?🇱?Polski, 🇸?🇮?Słowenii i 🇨?🇿?Czech po wizycie w 🇺?🇦?Kijowie wróciły bezpiecznie na teren naszego kraju.

🇵?🇱?Polish, 🇸?🇮?Slovenian and 🇨?🇿?Czech delegations safely returned from 🇺?🇦?Kyiv to Poland.

- Piotr Müller (@PiotrMuller) March 16, 2022