Lech Walesa, leader of Poland’s Solidarity movement, joined former political prisoners in expressing “horror and disgust” at President Trump’s scolding of Ukraine’s President Zelensky. In a letter, they likened Trump’s reprimand to experiences with Communist-era officials who exerted authoritarian control. They criticized Trump for demanding gratitude from Zelensky, emphasizing that true thanks should go to Ukrainian soldiers fighting for freedom. The letter highlighted concerns over the US potentially abandoning its support for those opposing tyranny, recalling President Reagan’s commitment to aiding Moscow’s adversaries. Walesa and the signatories urged the US to uphold democratic values and support its European allies.
Lech Walesa, the figurehead of Poland’s Solidarity movement that played a pivotal role in dismantling Moscow’s influence in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, collaborated with a group of former political prisoners on Monday to articulate a heartfelt letter addressed to President Trump. They expressed their “horror and disgust” at Trump’s reprimand of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine from the previous week, comparing it to their experiences with oppressive Communist officials.
In their letter written in Polish, they articulated their “terror at the fact that the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation reminded us of the one we remember well from interrogations by the Security Service and from courtrooms in Communist courts.”
“Prosecutors and judges, acting on behalf of the omnipotent communist political police, also made it clear that they held all the power and we held none,” the letter noted, referencing President Trump’s admonition to Mr. Zelensky that “you don’t have the cards.”
The letter went on to say that Communist officials “demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people were suffering because of us.” When President Zelensky insisted during his Oval Office meeting on Friday that security assurances were necessary for any lasting peace agreement with Russia, Mr. Trump countered by saying, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
The letter—signed by Mr. Walesa, the leader of the Solidarity trade union in the 1980s, along with over 30 prominent former Polish political detainees—was shared on Mr. Walesa’s Facebook page, accompanied by an occasionally inaccurate English translation and an archival photograph of him with a smiling, tuxedo-clad Mr. Trump.
It conveyed their incredulous anger at Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance for scolding Mr. Zelensky for insufficient expressions of gratitude for their assistance to Ukraine.
“Gratitude belongs to the brave Ukrainian soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in defense of the values of the free world,” stated Mr. Walesa, who was Poland’s first democratically elected president post-Communism, along with the other signers. “We cannot fathom how the leader of a country symbolizing the free world fails to acknowledge this.”
While numerous European leaders were unsettled and alarmed by Mr. Zelensky’s treatment in the Oval Office, they have refrained from publicly criticizing Mr. Trump, wary of provoking his ire and exacerbating his frustrations with Ukraine. Mr. Walesa’s letter has brought the European sentiment to light, emphasizing the concern that the United States, under Mr. Trump, is shifting away from opposing dictatorial adversaries in favor of aligning with them.
The letter evoked the crucial role President Ronald Reagan played in backing those opposing Moscow during the 1980s, ultimately contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union. “President Reagan recognized that millions of oppressed people in Soviet Russia and its conquered territories were suffering, including thousands of political prisoners who sacrificed their freedom for democratic values,” it remarked.
Calling for the United States to uphold its historical support for opponents of tyranny, the letter cautioned, “The history of the 20th century illustrates that every time the United States sought to distance itself from democratic values and its European allies, it ultimately threatened its own security.”
Anatol Magdziarz contributed reporting.