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Poland’s president and prime minister will visit the White House on Tuesday in an attempt to spur the US to send more aid to Ukraine, at a time when the new funds remain stalled in Congress.
US President Joe Biden invited Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk for meetings to mark the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO, a historic step for the country after breaking free from Moscow’s sphere of influence.
Duda and Tusk will also meet with US lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday, asking them to pass a new package delivering military aid to Kyiv and break the standoff between Congress's two parties. While the Senate has passed a $118 billion (€108 billion) bipartisan package including $60 billion (€55 billion) in Ukraine funding, the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is refusing to bring it to the floor for a vote.
The visit comes at a time when Poland is trying to motivate the West to increase its defence spending to match Russia’s efforts.
“The war in Ukraine has clearly shown that the United States is and should remain the leader in security issues in Europe and the world,” Duda said in an address to his country on Monday.
“However, other NATO countries must also take greater responsibility for the security of the entire alliance and intensively modernise and strengthen their troops.”
Speaking to reporters before boarding his plane in Warsaw, Duda said that while the talks in Washington would celebrate an anniversary, they would above all focus on European security going forward and "about Russian imperial policy, which has returned.”
Polish media noted that this trip will be the first time in a quarter-century that a Polish president and prime minister have both visited Washington at the same time, highlighting the seriousness of this historical moment.
Concerns are growing over the future of the conflict in Ukraine, as Kyiv is currently running low on ammunition and needs to have its stocks replenished soon. At the same time, Russia appears to be gaining ground on the battlefield, a major contrast to the weakness and disorganisation its forces displayed in 2022 and much of 2023.
The visit will also give Biden a chance to articulate how he views the role of NATO in the near future.
His rival Donald Trump, whom he’s likely to face in a rematch at the November 5 election, recently said that were he to retake the White House, NATO countries who do not contribute their "fair share" to the alliance would be left at Russia's mercy.
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Germany's train drivers staged a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in the latest move of a long-running dispute over working hours with the country's main railway operator, while a walkout by cabin crew at Lufthansa takes place.
The GDL union called on drivers of state-owned Deutsche Bahn's passenger trains to walk out starting at 2 a.m. The union is demanding for working hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay cut.
In talks between the union and Deutsche Bahn, moderators suggested a reduction from 38 to 36 hours by 2028, but details of their proposal didn’t satisfy GDL. The union demanded a new offer by Sunday evening, which wasn’t forthcoming.
The latest GDL walkout — the sixth in a dispute that started last year — coincided with a separate 19-hour strike by Lufthansa cabin crew on flights departing from Frankfurt, Germany's largest airport.
The UFO union called on cabin crew to strike from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday as it seeks a 15% pay increase and a one-time payment of 3,000 euros per employee to offset inflation.
A similar walkout by cabin crew on flights departing from Munich is to follow on Wednesday.
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The drone attack was part of a series orchestrated by Ukraine targeting Russia, which caused explosions and fires at several fuel refineries, also cutting electricity supplies.
A fire erupted at a fuel facility in Nizhny Novgorod when several drones reportedly hit the Kstovo industrial area, according to local governors.
RIA state news agency reported that Russian air defence systems reacted to 25 drones launched from Ukraine over several regions across Russia. No casualties were reported.
Russian shelling struck a home and vehicle in Ukraine's southern Kherson region killing one person and injuring three according to Kherson's Regional Military Administration. Several villages in Kherson have been targeted by Russia over the last day.
Meanwhile, soldiers who Kyiv officials are Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine also claimed to have crossed the border into Russia, as they have several times during the war.
Soldiers from the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion released statements and videos on social media claiming to show them on Russian territory. They said they wanted “a Russia liberated from Putin’s dictatorship.”
The authenticity of the video couldn't be independently verified.
The representative of Ukraine’s intelligence agency, Andrii Yusov, told Ukrainska Pravda that the military groups are made up of Russian citizens.
“On the territory of the Russian Federation, they operate completely autonomously and independently,” he said.