Polish leader rips Republican senators for leaving Ukraine aid in limbo: ‘Shame on you’

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday lambasted Senate Republicans and said they should be ashamed for killing a border security package that would have unlocked wartime aid for Ukraine.

“Dear Republican Senators of America. Ronald Reagan, who helped millions of us to win back our freedom and independence, must be turning in his grave today. Shame on you,” Tusk wrote in a Thursday post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Poland, a border nation of Ukraine, has remained a steadfast supporter of the country’s fight against Russia in the nearly two years since Moscow launched its invasion.

Tusk’s mention of Reagan is likely a nod to the former Republican president’s support of Poland’s efforts to decrease Moscow’s dominance in the 1980s and to the previous values of the GOP, The Associated Press noted.

Ukraine aid was left in limbo Wednesday after most of the Senate GOP conference, save for four Republicans, voted against advancing a motion to proceed on a border security package in a 50-49 vote.

The border deal was part of a larger national security supplemental package that included emergency foreign aid to assist Ukraine and Israel’s war efforts and bolster security in the Indo-Pacific.

President Biden sought an estimated $60 billion in support for Ukraine but was met with opposition from several Senate Republicans, who have insisted any further aid to the country must be tied to border security reform.

The proposed deal followed months-long bipartisan negotiations, which were led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). They have all since expressed frustration over the diminishment of GOP support for the bill.

The Senate is slated to vote on a Plan B solution Thursday, which would strip the foreign aid legislation of the border security deal and bring a package funding the war in Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific region and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and Gaza to the floor.

That bill is likely to face resistance in the House from hard-line conservatives who see continued funding to Kyiv as a waste. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has also indicated he wants to separate foreign policy priorities.

The House tried and failed to pass a stand-alone Israel funding package on Tuesday. Before the vote, Johnson said Congress should “deal with these measures and these issues independently,” while noting lawmakers will “talk about the Ukraine measure going forward, that’s not been abandoned.” 

With further funding for Ukraine stalled in Congress, the U.S. has paused ammunition and missile shipments to the country as it attempts to fend off Russian forces.

Tusk visited Ukraine last month, when he announced a new military aid package featuring a loan to buy larger weapons and a pledge to find ways to manufacture them together, the AP reported.