Pelosi holds talks on Ukraine with Polish president following meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv

Speaker says US lawmakers ‘reaffirmed our nation’s pledge to continue supporting Poland’s humanitarian efforts’

A group of US congressional representatives, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, visited Warsaw, Poland to hold talks on Ukraine.

Meeting with President Andrzej Duda and Polish lawmakers on Monday, the US delegation shared their gratitude for the humanitarian support the country has provided to Ukrainian refugees as well as other kinds of aid to the war-torn nation.

Ms Pelosi was joined by six other US lawmakers on the trip to Poland, which comes after the group visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which they pledged American support for Ukraine until the end of the war with Russia, which invaded on 24 February.

Ms Pelosi said in a statement that Mr Duda is “a valued partner in supporting the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin’s brutal and unprovoked war”.

She added that the US delegation “expressed America’s deep gratitude to the Polish government and Polish people for opening their hearts and homes to Ukrainian refugees, and we reaffirmed our nation’s pledge to continue supporting Poland’s humanitarian efforts”.

More than 5.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, with most of them, more than three million, arriving in Poland, and many have remained in the country.

Polish citizens have welcomed Ukrainians into their homes, while the government and volunteers have set up other ways to help war refugees.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Marshal Jozef Pilsudski Square in Warsaw, Poland, on 2 May 2022 (EPA)

Nancy Pelosi, 3rd from left, and Poland's President Andrzej Duda, 4th from right, meet for talks in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, May 2, 2022 (AP)

Nancy Pelosi and US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski during their meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland, on 2 May 2022 (EPA)

Nancy Pelosi attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Marshal Jozef Pilsudski Square in Warsaw, Poland, on 2 May 2022 (EPA)

The congressional trip came two days after President Joe Biden requested that Congress approve a $33bn aid package to Ukraine, including both military and humanitarian assistance. The package is more than twice the size of the initial $13.6bn sent so far, almost all of which have now been used.

The package is intended to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the US will support Ukraine for the long haul and that American military aid for Ukraine isn’t fleeting.

During a press conference on Sunday in Rzeszow, Poland, the US lawmakers lauded Ukraine’s defence efforts and framed the war as a fight between good and evil and assured that US military, humanitarian and economic support would be present long-term.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here.  If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.