Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has warned that the threat of a third world war is growing, urging the nation to prepare for conflict on a scale unseen since the Second World War. Speaking to the Sejm, Poland's parliament, Sikorski said awareness of the danger must mobilise the country rather than paralyse it.
Poland, which shares borders with both Russia and Ukraine, would be on the frontline of any new Russian aggression, Sikorski stressed. "Putin doesn't want peace, only surrender," he told MPs, adding that if Ukraine were to be defeated, the threat from Russia would only increase.
The foreign minister highlighted that Russian aggression against NATO's eastern flank would prove costly, citing drone incursions, railway sabotage and disinformation campaigns already carried out by Moscow. He also recalled the death of a seven-year-old Polish girl killed by a Russian missile strike in Ukraine last November.
His remarks come amid heightened tensions, with NATO air defences activated in Romania after a Russian drone approached its airspace during strikes on Ukrainian ports. NATO fighter jets have been scrambled twice this week in response to Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.
Overnight, Russia launched 420 drones and 39 missiles across Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces struck an oil depot in occupied Luhansk and an energy facility in Belgorod, causing blackouts.
