Russia and Poland trade threats of wider war that could turn nuclear

Poland has warned Russia that a conflict with Nato would lead to its “inevitable defeat”, as Moscow threatens to expand its war beyond the borders of Ukraine.

Russia and Poland have been trading barbs after Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said his country would be ready to host nuclear weapons of a Nato member, and Russia moved missiles to neighbouring Belarus.

His remarks sparked a flurry of angry responses from Russian officials, who have warned Poland that it would be considered a legitimate target in the event of a direct confrontation with Nato.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the Polish leader’s comments as “provocative”.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Poland is ready to host nuclear arms (Photo: Mateusz Slodkowski/AFP via Getty Images)

“As you understand, if the American weapons are deployed on the territory of Poland, the [Russian] list of legitimate targets to defeat in a situation of direct military confrontation with Nato will be immediately updated,” she warned on Thursday.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said any Nato weapons sent to Poland will become a priority target for the Kremlin.

“If they follow the path of further escalation – and this is how the discussions can be assessed, these so far verbal games with nuclear weapons – then a further round of tension will occur,” he said, according to Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency.

“And in general, this game is very dangerous, its consequences may be hard to predict.”

Poland has hit back, suggesting Russia would falter if it tried to wage war with the military alliance, whose presence covers a huge swathe of its borders in Europe.

“It is not we – the West – who should be afraid of a clash with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, but the other way around,” Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said.

“It is worth remembering this, not to increase the sense of threat in Russians, because Nato is a defence pact, but to show that a Russian attack on any of the members of the alliance would end in its inevitable defeat.”

Belarus, a key Russian ally, has also joined the fray, accusing Nato member Lithuania of launching a drone attack on Minsk that was thwarted by the country’s security service. Lithuania has rejected the claims.

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“The state security committee… has recently carried out a number of acute security measures, which made it possible to prevent strikes by combat drones from the territory of Lithuania on objects in Minsk and its suburbs,” Belarusian security chief Ivan Tertel said, Ria reported, without providing evidence.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko warned that a growing stand-off between his country, Russia and the West could end with a nuclear “apocalypse”.

He said “several dozen” Russian nuclear weapons are on Belarusian soil under an agreement that he and Mr Putin announced last year – the first time since the Soviet era that Russia has deployed nuclear missiles in a foreign country.

Mr Lukashenko also levelled insults at Ukraine over its reliance on Western-supplied weaponry. The West has “turned Ukraine into a drug addict, which is kept on a short leash by promises of a new dose of additional weapons, including long-range weapons”, he said, according to the Russian Tass news agency.

He also revealed combat-ready troops have been deployed to the western border with Poland, saying they are “now standing head-to-head with Nato”.

He later emphasised that Belarus is not going to fight with anyone, but such remarks will do little to allay fears by Western nations that Russia’s war in Ukraine could spill over to Nato allies.

Russia announced this week that it had moved nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to its frontier with Finland, which was met with incredulity.

“If this comes true over time, it won’t change anything in Finland,” retired Finnish Major-Gen Harri Ohra-aho posted on X, adding that the move was “absurd”.

“In any case, one should defend against Iskander missiles,” he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had previously warned that Europe “must be ready” and that “any scenario is possible”.

On Thursday, Mr Sikorski called on Nato to increase its defence preparedness.

“Putin’s only hope is our lack of determination,” he said.