Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that “Russia does not yet have sufficient military capabilities to attack Poland”, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will ultimately be defeated” in the war against Ukraine.
According to the head of Polish diplomacy in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Warsaw is “paying close attention” to any threats from Moscow, given its historical experience of relations with Russia. At the same time, he emphasised, “the war against Ukraine has significantly depleted Russia’s military resources”.
Sikorski believes that at present “the Kremlin is incapable of launching a full-scale attack on Poland”, although he did not rule out the possibility of isolated provocations. He also pointed out that Russia has failed to achieve its objectives in eastern Ukraine, despite years of hostilities.
Commenting on media reports alleging that the US had warned of the risk of a limited Russian provocation against Poland to test NATO’s readiness to respond, the minister noted that he could neither confirm nor deny such information. At the same time, he suggested that such a scenario was possible, and that discussing it publicly could act as a deterrent for Moscow.
The Polish Foreign Minister also praised Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian aggression. According to him, the Ukrainian state has managed to avoid occupation, maintain grain exports via the Black Sea and hold the front line, whilst the Russian army’s performance has proved significantly weaker than many experts had predicted at the start of the invasion.
Furthermore, Sikorski stated that Russia has been waging a hybrid campaign against Western powers for around ten years, using propaganda, cyber-attacks, disinformation and sabotage. He said that Moscow spends over a billion euros annually on such operations.
Separately, the Polish minister commented on the Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries. In his view, these facilities are legitimate military targets, as they supply fuel to the Russian armed forces.