Russia threatens Poland after Sikorski's statement about NATO superiority
Assistant to the President of Russia Nikolai Patrushev threatened Poland with the destruction of its statehood in the event of a military conflict with the Russian Federation. This was his response to the statement by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who the day before declared a significant superiority of NATO forces over Russia and suggested that in the event of a Russian attack, the Alliance could quickly defeat Moscow.
Patrushev said this in an interview with Russian media.
According to him, if Poland enters hostilities against Russia, Moscow will allegedly use its entire available arsenal against it.
"If Poland enters hostilities against Russia, our country will use the entire arsenal of forces and means at its disposal, and Polish statehood will cease to exist in two or three days", Patrushev stated.
He also claimed that Russia allegedly does not use its full military potential in the war against Ukraine.
What exactly Sikorski said
Patrushev's threat came as a reaction to Sikorski's speech on September 13 at the Yalta European Strategy meeting in Kyiv.
The Polish minister spoke about a hypothetical scenario of a Russian attack on NATO countries and stated that in such a case the balance of forces would not be in Moscow's favor.
"If Russia attacked us and we took off the gloves, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly", Sikorski said.
He cited aviation as one of the main advantages. According to the Polish minister's estimate, the Alliance countries have about 2,500 aircraft and a significant advantage over Russian air forces.
At the same time, Sikorski spoke precisely about the aggregate military potential of the allies, not about Poland's ability to fight Russia on its own.
He also cited Ukrainian strikes on the Russian oil refining industry as an example. According to Sikorski, if Ukraine managed to significantly reduce Russian refining capacity, then NATO countries have much greater capabilities.
Thus, the Polish minister argued that Russia does not have military superiority over the Alliance and that Moscow would have much more to lose in the event of a direct attack on one of its states.
In Moscow, Sikorski's words were presented as a threat from Poland to Russia
Russian officials, meanwhile, presented the Polish minister's statement as a claim about Poland's own military superiority over Russia.
Even before Patrushev, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reacted to the speech. She called Sikorski's words about a possible quick defeat of Russia a manifestation of "Russophobia".
However, in his speech, Sikorski considered a scenario of a Russian attack on NATO and operated with the overall capabilities of the Alliance countries, in particular their aviation potential.
Tensions between Russia and Poland are growing
The exchange of sharp statements takes place against the backdrop of a series of incidents involving Poland and Russian military activity.
The day before, on September 14, Polish military lifted a drone from the Baltic Sea near the beach in Rusinowo, which Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz tentatively called a military drone of Russian origin.
Spokesman of the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces Jacek Goryszewski stated that the device is most likely a Russian drone of the "Gerbera" type.
Recently, Polish authorities have also repeatedly stated the need to strengthen NATO's eastern flank and readiness to respond to Russian provocations.
Based on materials from: Yalta European Strategy, Astra
