Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stated that Russia may use Ukrainian drones for a provocation against a NATO member or even its own territory. He spoke about this during a visit to the US, reports “Polsat News”.
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According to R. Sikorski, Warsaw is closely monitoring Kremlin actions and does not rule out a scenario in which Russia will try to create a pretext for escalation.
“Putin even said something similar about a month ago. He stated: if a NATO member attacks us, we will respond. Therefore, we suspect that he plans to prepare Ukrainian drones and use them to attack a NATO member or Russia, and then respond to such an attack,” said the Polish Foreign Minister.
“We know what you are planning, don’t do it”
R. Sikorski said that similar methods have been used many times in history by authoritarian regimes.
“Such regimes always behave this way. I remind you of the 1939 Gleiwitz provocation, when ‘Abwehr’ (the German Armed Forces military intelligence and counterintelligence – editor’s note) agents, disguised as Polish soldiers, seized a radio station on the then Reich territory. Our message to Vladimir Putin is this: we know what you are planning, don’t do it,” emphasized R. Sikorski.
At the same time, he noted that, in his opinion, Russia currently does not have sufficient capabilities to directly attack Poland, but it may undertake various provocations.
Earlier, Western media reported that the United States is believed to have warned the Polish authorities about a possible Russian armed provocation. According to media reports, Moscow might view such a scenario as a way to test NATO’s resolve to fulfill collective defense commitments.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that his country is preparing for “various” scenarios, given increasingly active discussions about a possible Russian provocation. He suggested that the coming months could be “critical”.
Latvian President: Russia may undertake provocations in the region
15min reminds that Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, visiting Lithuania, warned on Wednesday that Russia might resort to provocations in the region when the battle in Ukraine significantly weakens.
“Information we receive from Lithuania, Latvia, other NATO countries, information we get from various state services, shows different attempts to prepare sabotage, hybrid attacks aimed at undermining the security of our countries, and they are very likely,” said the Latvian President at a press conference in Vilnius.
“We must be extremely prepared so that when the war in Ukraine reaches the stage where Russia no longer achieves any victories, can no longer advance on the battlefield, perhaps even without a complete Ukrainian victory, in such a situation Russia may indirectly try to test Article 5 and response mechanisms at the Alliance level, at the European Union level,” added E. Rinkēvičs.
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He said this in an interview with President Gitanas Nausėda on Tuesday, confirming information that appeared in Western media a few weeks ago that Russia might stage provocations in the Baltic states and Poland to test NATO unity.
According to the Latvian President, security services are already detaining more and more people who spy for Russia, Belarus, or cooperate with these states.
“They are really testing our readiness, our vigilance. We must be ready to respond and react to new threats,” said E. Rinkēvičs.
“The next few or even 12 months will be truly crucial for the security of the Baltic states, we already see that hybrid operations have been ongoing for several years,” he added.
Meanwhile, G. Nausėda said that although Russia is currently unable to conduct large-scale military operations against NATO countries, it may plan smaller-scale attacks that could cause significant damage to critical infrastructure.
“This kind of information, I cannot say that we have received it since yesterday, we have been receiving such information practically for the last two or three months. That is why a few weeks ago I organized an interdepartmental meeting at the level of the State Defense Council representation, where we seriously discussed which objects such operations could be targeted at,” said the president.
G. Nausėda emphasized that Lithuania should “not indulge in summer moods and think that the war is happening somewhere far from Lithuania”.
“The war is happening near Lithuania and we see its manifestations almost every day. Whether it manifests in Belarusian hybrid attacks, illegal migration, sending various flying objects into our country’s territory, but it also manifests in planning that takes place practically in Moscow and we know that this planning does not stop for a minute,” he added.
As G. Nausėda told BNS earlier, information about possible Russian provocations is based on intelligence data, and among possible scenarios are attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which could be carried out by conventional and other means.
Recently, protection of key transport and energy facilities in Lithuania has been strengthened.
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