Poland has declared a week of national mourning following Saturday’s plane crash that killed its president and dozens of top political and military leaders in Russia. President Lech Kaczynski was heading a delegation to Russia to commemorate the 1940 massacre of over 20,000 Poles by the Soviet Union secret police. The ceremony had been seen as a sign of growing reconciliation between Poland and Russia. At least ninety-six people died in the crash. At the Polish embassy in Washington, Polish Ambassador Robert Kupiecki thanked Americans for their condolences.

Polish Ambassador Robert Kupiecki: “I would like to extend my words of thanks, of gratitude, to President Barack Obama and the American people, many people who contacted the embassy, who contacted me personally, sharing their words of sympathy and condolences. Thank you very much for your attention.”

In addition to top government officials, the victims included the former Polish trade unionist Anna Walentynowicz, whose firing in 1980 led to the founding of the Polish trade union Solidarity.