Lech Wałęsa and several former Polish dissidents have sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump that is not only a criticism of how Volodymyr Zelensky has been treated, but a sharp rebuke of the rhetoric that, according to them, echoes the darkness of authoritarian regimes.
The exchange between the two presidents in the Oval Office, where the mogul rebuked the Ukrainian leader for not expressing enough gratitude for U.S. aid, sparked indignation among Wałęsa and about forty other “rebels” from Poland. In an open letter addressed to the GOP leader, the signatories wrote that they watched the conversation “with horror and disgust,” comparing the atmosphere of the meeting to that of “communist tribunals” and the “security halls” of Soviet bloc regimes. “We consider your expectations regarding showing respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine in its fight with Russia to be offensive,” the letter reads. “Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defence of the values of the free world.”
Lech Wałęsa is a symbol of the fight against the Soviet regime, and an icon of freedom and resistance more broadly, having managed to channel popular anger into a movement that brought down the wall of communism in Poland. With the Gdańsk strike in 1980, Wałęsa forced the regime to recognize the first independent trade union. His ability to keep the hope for democracy alive turned him into a globally recognized figure, making him a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1983 and the elected president of Poland in 1990.
Today, Poland is one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies in its fight against Russian aggression, sharing a border with the invaded Slavic state. On Tuesday, Polish foreign ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski expressed concern over President Trump’s pause on foreign aid to Ukraine, which he says was done without consulting NATO allies. “This is a very significant decision, and the situation is extremely serious,” Wronski said in a statement quoted by Polish news media. “That may sound obvious, but it carries enormous political weight—this decision was made without any prior information, without consultations, neither with NATO allies nor with the Ramstein group, which has been actively supporting Ukraine in its fight.”
