Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa and dozens of ex-political prisoners issued a scathing letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing “horror and distaste” over his treatment of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during their fiery White House meeting.

The letter, signed by 39 former Polish dissidents, compares the atmosphere of the Oval Office exchange to interrogations under Poland’s former communist regime.

Wałęsa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leader of the anti-communist Solidarity movement, posted the letter on his Facebook page alongside an old photograph of himself with Trump. The letter was also signed by figures such as historian Adam Michnik and former dissident Władysław Frasyniuk.

Newsweek emailed the White House press office for comment outside of working hours.

Why It Matters

The letter comes amid heightened tensions in U.S.-Ukraine relations as Washington debates continuing military aid to Kyiv—currently paused—in its defense against Russia’s invasion.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance pressured Zelensky to show more gratitude for American support at their Oval Office meeting on February 28, a demand Wałęsa and his co-signers found deeply offensive.

“Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defense of the values of the free world. They are the ones who have been dying on the front lines,” the letter states.

The meeting collapsed and Zelensky left early without signing a U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal that the Trump Administration argues would eventually give him via economic partnership the security guarantees that he wants.

Lech Walesa, Nobel Peace Prize winner, former chairman of the Solidarnosc trade union and former Polish president, visits Peenem’nde on May 13, 2024. Lech Walesa, Nobel Peace Prize winner, former chairman of the Solidarnosc trade union and former Polish president, visits Peenem’nde on May 13, 2024. Stefan Sauer/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

What to Know

During a live-broadcast meeting, Trump accused Zelensky of disrespecting the United States and “gambling with World War Three”, telling the Ukrainian leader: “You don’t have the cards right now.”

This remark drew sharp criticism from Wałęsa and other Polish activists, who likened the exchange to tactics used by communist-era secret police.

“We were also terrified by 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 the courtrooms in communist courts,” the letter read.

The letter also referenced security assurances made to Ukraine in 1994, arguing that U.S. support should not be contingent on expressions of gratitude.

“These guarantees are unconditional: there is not a word there about treating such aid as economic exchange,” the letter said.

Trump is seeking to end the war and bring about a lasting peace, citing the vast death and destruction and the large financial cost to American taxpayers—money he would rather see spent on domestic priorities.

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin is, from their conversations, prepared to sit down and reach a settlement to end the conflict that Moscow began. But Trump believes Zelensky is not yet ready to make peace with Russia.

All sides recognize that U.S. military support is vital to Ukraine’s defense and that, without it, Ukraine and its European allies would struggle to fend off Russia.

What People Are Saying

The letter signed by Wałęsa said: “Prosecutors and judges, commissioned by the omnipotent communist political police, also explained to us that they had all the cards in their hands, and we had none. We are shocked that you treated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a similar way.”

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: “[Zelensky] doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”

What’s Next

The U.S. has paused military aid to Ukraine. It remains to be seen if and when that aid will return.

It may hinge on the signing of a proposed U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal that Zelensky and Trump were supposed to have agreed at Friday’s meeting before the event was canceled early after their clash.

Both sides have expressed a desire to see the minerals deal through, despite recent events.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.