We remind you of Witold Jurash. It was first published in 2020.
On April 10, 2010, I served as chargé d’affaires RP in Belarus. About 15 minutes before the crash in Smolensk, I learned that possibly due to the fog, a plane with the president on board would be diverted to Minsk to wait there for a change of weather.
I ordered an immediate assembly of all diplomats at the embassy, and I started shaving myself and at the same time tried to scope a fellow MFA who was waiting for the plane to land in Smolensk.
At 1 point, I was able to connect, asking if I should anticipate the president to land in Belarus. In response, I heard, "There is simply a disaster here," and after these words the connection was interrupted.
Witold Juras about Smolensk: I didn't think it was a plane crash
My wife, who just brought me a tie, asked me what was going on, which I completely calmly replied that there was “a disaster” and added that it was most likely either forgotten to take the wreaths, or individual did not take the passports, or the honorary company has a gun, but there is no ammunition and there is no way to return the salute. It never occurred to me that it was a plane crash.
I was so utilized to the fact that the level of organizing our state visits was disastrous, and the mess caused a headache that was the only 1 I had association. A fewer minutes later, I was able to connect with a colleague who, in shock, said: “No 1 is alive here”, “no 1 is alive here”.
Further string of article under video material
Smolensk: first hours after the crash
A fewer hours later, in Vitebsk, Belarus, Jarosław Kaczyński and the PiS delegation landed, followed by a separate aircraft Donald Tusk and a government delegation. On the way to Smolensk — already in Russia — we overtook the car column that Jarosław Kaczyński was driving, and which was clearly slowed down by the convoy militia.
Shortly after we arrived at the airport, I heard that the Russians were not allowing the PiS delegation to enter the airport. To let the delegation of Law and Justice to yet enter, he sought what I had witnessed, Deputy Minister of abroad Affairs Jacek Najder, who at 1 point said, constating apparent provocations from the Russian side, “this has already begun”.
When we went from the airport area to the crash site, I was struck by a very unusual smell, which was a mixture of petrol odor and something that resembled a metallic odor on 1 side and sweet on the another – as if it were cotton candy. Later I learned that it is simply a typical odor that floats in the place of catastrophe – the sweet-metallic is the odor of blood.
I was a fewer yards from Donald Tusk erstwhile we found ourselves in a place where they were covered with a tarp of flesh. The Prime Minister was light and seemed to be profoundly afraid or even terrified of what he saw. The Prime Minister's behaviour contrasted very clearly with the very different attitude of the head of the Chancellery of Prime Minister Tomasz Arab.
Smolensk disaster. “Is this your president?”
When the government delegation had already left the crash site, a Russian man from the Ministry of Extraordinary Affairs dressed in a medical gown approached me asking me if I could aid him. I asked him at what point, and at that minute he removed the sheet that covered 1 of the bodies and asked, “Is this your president?”
I confirmed it was him.
I witnessed the situation erstwhile after Jarosław Kaczyński recognized his brother's body, 1 of the PiS politicians was approached by an administrative authoritative Vladimir Putin and said that Vladimir Putin would like to express his condolences personally to Jarosław Kaczyński. erstwhile he heard the question as to whether it would be possible in 2 to 3 minutes, the president of the Law and Justice Service just recognized his brother’s body and needed a minute to recover, the Russian authoritative said of course.
He added that erstwhile Jarosław Kaczyński is ready, he can go to the shelter where Vladimir Putin was with Donald Tuski and there he will receive condolences. Noting that this is not how condolences are made to the president's brother and erstwhile head of government, there was no response.
There were respective more of these types of confrontations and provocations from the Russian side that day. The noble reflexes of average Russians on the 1 hand and the completely different behaviour of Russian authorities were the subject of many talks by the government delegation. I was amazed to learn later that we were amazed by the bad will of the Kremlin, e.g. to refuse to return the wreckage of the plane.
"So the Russians could take the initiative very easily, which, of course, they did"
I had the impression that Russia, seeing that 2 Polish delegations were not in contact with each another at all, and worse, they moved around the airport so as not to meet, and the only man who, being a associate of the government delegation, was the Deputy Minister of Law and Justice, Najder, understood that they could play our country as shortly as they wanted.
It was besides clear that decision-making chaos and deficiency of specialists, specified as lawyers or pathomorphologists on the Polish side. The Russians, in turn, were well organized and had already had staff on site.
The above is not an argument for any hypothesis of an assassination — the Russian administration simply has it so that it is well organized. Ours seemed to be in a state of complete disintegration. So the Russians could take the initiative very easily, which, of course, they did.
* Oh, my God *
The Smolensk disaster is undoubtedly 1 of the most crucial events in Poland's history. We talk about him a lot. We feel the consequences of this tragedy in many ways. This is ninety-six human stories, which — although they began at different times and then keyed in very different paths — coincided erstwhile and for all in 1 place. In Smolensk, different people were killed, whose memory must survive. In fresh years, we have created respective unique places in Oneta where we pay tribute:
