As fresh concerns are raised by impending US elections and Russian attacks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Poland’s leaders on Thursday to establish a united cause on Ukraine.
Following a joint solidarity trip to Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the senior US diplomat entered Poland by train. The two agreed to expeditiously evaluate Ukraine’s demands for authorization to launch more attacks into Russia.
Blinken will have separate meetings in Warsaw with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who are fierce adversaries over the course of the EU member state.
Despite differences on internal issues, Poland—which has painful memories of Moscow—has united to support Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of that country in 2022.
Blinken hopes to use the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration to work with allies to ensure broad and sustained support for Ukraine, which has received billions of dollars in Western military and economic support.
However, the US election on November 5th might drastically change the position of the largest supporter of Ukraine, since Republican contender Donald Trump declined to state in a debate on Tuesday whether he wanted Ukraine to win.
As she swore to continue the fight for Ukraine, Biden’s political heir Kamala Harris made reference to Poland and the Polish-American vote in the strategically important state of Pennsylvania.
According to Harris, Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe” if the US had not supported Ukraine.
“Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish-Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favour, and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch?” she told Trump, referring to his past statements of admiration for Putin.
Poland, since the end of the Cold War an enthusiastic US ally, nonetheless sought to work with Trump during his 2017-2021 presidency.
Duda met with Trump in April in New York, and the two have praised each other’s records.
The European-oriented Tusk, who triumphed in elections last year, has spoken of restoring democracy after polarisation, a key priority for Biden.
Biden this year welcomed Tusk and Duda jointly at the White House, hoping to send a signal of bipartisanship on Ukraine.
Tusk has not shied away from calling out members of Trump’s Republican Party who oppose assisting Ukraine.
During a long delay in Congress approving new military aid to Ukraine, Tusk said that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bore personal responsibility for “thousands of lives”.
Blinken is expected to discuss further coordination with Poland, the key logistical gateway for Western military support into Ukraine.
Poland has also ramped up purchases of US weapons since the invasion of Ukraine.
Poland last month signed a deal with Boeing to buy 96 Apache attack helicopters for $10 billion.
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