Polish President Andrzej Duda attends a ceremony at the Lech Kaczynski Monument in central Warsaw, Poland, on April 10, 2019. Poland's political leaders are leading throughout Wednesday a series of commemorative events to mark the ninth anniversary of the Smolensk plane crash, which killed 96 people, including former Polish President Lech Kaczynski. (Xinhua/Jaap Arriens)

Poland's political leaders are leading throughout Wednesday a series of commemorative events to mark the ninth anniversary of the Smolensk plane crash, which killed 96 people, including former Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, leader of governing party Law and Justice (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski and members of the Polish government took part on Wednesday morning in a religious mass and commemorative event for the victims of the air crash.

Another religious mass and commemorative march in the area of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw are set to take place on Wednesday evening, with the participation of President Andrzej Duda and Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

On April 10, 2010, a Polish government plane with then Polish president, first lady and dozens of senior government officials and military commanders crashed near a military airfield in Smolensk, western Russia, killing all 96 people on board.

The delegation were travelling to the Russian locality Katyn for anniversary ceremonies of the Katyn Forest mass executions of 22,000 Polish prisoners of war (POWs) by the Soviet security units in 1940.