Poland's esteemed foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski has issued a chilling warning about the looming threat of a Third World War, urging nations to brace for conflicts reminiscent of those witnessed by previous generations. Addressing the Sejm, Poland's parliament, Sikorski emphasised the necessity of preparation for a war 'of the scale that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers saw', directly pointing to the dangers posed by dictator Vladimir Putin.
Frontline Nation Faces Russian Aggression
Sikorski made it unequivocally clear that Poland, which shares borders with both Russia and Ukraine, would be on the frontline of any new Russian aggression. He stressed that awareness of this peril can either paralyse or mobilise, and Poland cannot afford to be 'paralysed' or lulled into thinking this is 'not its war'. The Oxford-educated minister warned, 'Putin doesn't want peace, only surrender', adding that if Ukraine were defeated, the threat from Russia would not diminish but rather increase.
Russian Tactics and NATO Alerts
He detailed how Russia has already launched drone incursions, railway track sabotage, and disinformation campaigns against neighbouring states. Sikorski highlighted that Russian aggression against NATO's eastern flank countries would prove very costly, a concern echoed by Western intelligence. In a recent development, NATO air defences were placed on alert in Romania after a Russian drone approached its airspace during strikes on Ukrainian ports on the River Danube in the Odesa region.
This incident occurred in a week where NATO fighters were scrambled twice due to threats of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine—once in Poland and once in Romania. Sikorski reminded MPs of tragic incidents, such as the death of seven-year-old Polish girl Amelia Gzhesko, who was burned alive hugging her mother Oksana when a Russian Kh-101 missile hit a residential high-rise in Ternopil, Ukraine, in November.
Sinister Signals and Ongoing Conflicts
Adding to the tension, Russia's Doomsday Radio, a Cold War relic linked to its nuclear forces and nicknamed The Buzzer, broadcasted cryptic codewords like LIQUIDATOR, MAINOSTYAG, and COVARNY in the past 24 hours, signalling high East-West tensions. Meanwhile, on the ground, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine faced sustained Russian artillery and drone attacks overnight, resulting in four injuries, including a teenager, from a drone strike in Zaporizhzhia.
Putin's forces also targeted a hotel in the border city of Sumy, while Ukraine's Armed Forces retaliated by attacking an oil depot in Russian-held Luhansk region and an energy facility in Belgorod, Russia, leaving thousands without power. Sikorski's warning underscores the escalating volatility and the urgent need for vigilance in the face of Russian expansionism.
