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Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk
Photo: Aleksandra Szmigiel / REUTERS
Republican senators have blocked a billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine - and are now receiving strong criticism from Poland. »Dear Republican Senators of America. Ronald Reagan, who helped millions of us regain our freedom and independence, must be turning in his grave today. “Shame on you,” wrote Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the social network X (formerly Twitter), referring to the US President of the Republican Party, who died in 2004.
In a vote in the House of Representatives, Republicans blocked a bill presented by US President Joe Biden's Democrats that provided for a billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia. This meant that the legislative package that had been negotiated across parties for weeks, which also included aid for Israel and stricter regulations in immigration policy, failed. Former US President Donald Trump had previously expressed opposition to the agreement.
Rejection due to election campaign
Republicans had insisted that funding for Ukraine be linked to funding for the US border. Among other things, they have expressed doubts about support for Ukraine or completely reject it. They also demand significantly more resources to secure the US border and stricter immigration laws. Illegal immigration to the US is one of the dominant issues in the presidential election campaign. Trump wants to prevent Biden from achieving success by passing a bipartisan agreement on the issue. Everything currently points to a new edition of the duel between Biden and Trump in the presidential election.
Reagan served as US President from 1981 to 1989 and, with his then controversial policy of rearmament and anti-communist stance, made a decisive contribution to the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In Poland, the republican, who was rejected as a "cold warrior" in many Western societies, has many admirers - there is even a monument to him in Warsaw.
col/dpa