Poland has requested Trump to give them nukes just days after issuing households with survival guides and warning that all men will undergo military training.
Polish President Andrzej Duda called on the United States to transfer its nuclear weapons to Poland, urging an eastward ‘shift of the NATO infrastructure’ in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday.
Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine, has been ramping up its defence as it aims to deter a potential threat from neighbouring Russia.
‘The borders of NATO moved east in 1999, so 26 years later there should also be a shift of the NATO infrastructure east. For me this is obvious,’ Polish President Andrzej Duda was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.
‘I think it’s not only that the time has come, but that it would be safer if those weapons were already here,’ he added.
In April, Duda – a conservative ally of the right-wing Polish opposition – said his country was ready to host NATO’s nuclear arms.
Moscow in response warned it would take steps to ‘ensure its security’.
Duda said in Thursday’s interview: ‘Russia did not even hesitate when they were relocating their nuclear weapons into Belarus.’
Polish President Andrzej Duda called on the United States to transfer its nuclear weapons to Poland
Polish Army soldiers take part in a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border at the Dirmiskes village, in Lithuania on Friday, April 26, 2024
Poland has asked Trump for all of America’s nuclear weapons
‘They didn’t ask anyone’s permission,’ he told FT.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier that Poland in arming itself must reach for the most modern options, ‘also related to nuclear weapons’.
On Thursday he told reporters he appreciated ‘president Duda’s efforts’ to strengthen the security of his country.
He added, however, that it was ‘preferable to deal with this type of issue discreetly and not through interviews with the press’.
Poland’s foreign ministry’s spokesman told AFP Duda’s comments had not been made in consultation with the government.
Tusk last week hailed France’s offer to discuss extending its nuclear umbrella to other European nations as ‘very promising’.
Poland is already far ahead of its allies in terms of military expenditure, aiming to allocate 4.7 percent of its output to defence spending.
It comes after reports emerged that Poland will soon send out a guide for its citizens on how to survive future crises, amid rising tensions with Russia.
The country, which borders both Ukraine and Russia, will be sending the pamphlets to households this year.
The booklets will inform them on ‘how to deal with various hazardous situations,’ a deputy director for the interior ministry’s civil protection unit, Robert Klonowski, told the PAP news agency.
Civilians will be given wartime tips on how to cope with ‘a power outage lasting several days or several hours,’ he said, adding that the information would also serve for reacting to natural disasters.
Poland will soon send out a guide for its citizens on how to survive future crises , amid rising tensions with Russia
Members of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region fire a D-30 howitzer towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine March 7, 202
The brochure will be issued in Polish, and in Ukrainian for the some 900,000 Ukrainian refugees in the country.
‘We are also planning a special version, or at least part of this guide, addressed to children,’ Klonowski added.
Sweden has already issued a similar information brochure, while Finland has a website gathering information on how ready civilians are for different emergencies
Tusk also revealed he was having serious discussions with France about falling under the protections of their nuclear umbrella to his parliament.
During his announcement, Tusk emphasised the Eastern European county could not rely on conventional weaponry alone, noting that Ukraine had surrendered its nuclear ammunition to continue to be attacked by Russia.
‘We must be aware that Poland must reach for the most modern capabilities also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons … this is a race for security, not for war,’ he said.
Last week, reports also highlighted that Poland could soon require every adult male to undergo large-scale military training as it aims to boost its reserve force amid mounting tensions with Russia.
The Polish government is currently working to put a system in place for training all men for the event of a war, Tusk revealed Friday.
Tusk told the country’s Sejm – the lower house of parliament – that the military training would create a reserve force that is ‘adequate to possible threats.’
Officials aim to have a plan for the scheme, which would also be open to women volunteers, finalised by the end of the year.