European leaders' risky Kyiv mission took even close family by surprise

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shakes hands with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa during a joint news briefing with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Kyiv, Ukraine March 15, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

PRAGUE/KYIV (Reuters) - When headlines flashed on Tuesday morning that the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were on a train to Kyiv for talks with the Ukrainian president, it was news to some members of their immediate families.

The trip to a city under siege, where Ukraine's military is fighting invading Russian forces just a few kilometres from the periphery, was hastily arranged and known only to a few people.