Former Polish President and leader of the Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa, published an open letter to US President Donald Trump signed by 39 other former Polish political prisoners. “Dear Mr President, We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy with horror and distaste. We consider your expectations regarding showing respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine fighting against Russia to be offensive. Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defence of the values of the free world. They are the ones who have been dying on the front lines for over 11 years in the name of these values and the independence of their homeland attacked by Putin’s Russia. We do not understand how the leader of a country that is a symbol of the free world can not see this. We were also horrified 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 courtrooms in communist courts. Prosecutors and judges, commissioned by the all-powerful communist political police, also explained to us that they held all the cards and we held none. They demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people were suffering because of us. They deprived us of our freedom and civil rights because we refused to cooperate with the authorities and did not show them gratitude. We are shocked that you treated President Volodymyr Zelensky in a similar way”.