In brief
During an interview with BBC Radio 4, Polish President Karol Nawrocki emphasized that Donald Trump is the only world leader capable of stopping Vladimir Putin from threatening Europe. Nawrocki described Trump’s role as pivotal in addressing the war in Ukraine and expressed concerns over Russia's aggressive maneuvers towards Poland and its NATO allies. He called for European support of Trump’s efforts and criticized other European leaders for prioritizing ideological issues over regional security. The interview highlighted Poland's ongoing hybrid war with Russia, marked by drone incursions and misinformation campaigns.
Donald Trump is the only world leader capable of stopping Vladimir Putin from threatening Europe, according to Poland's President Karol Nawrocki. In an interview with Radio 4's Today programme, he said the Russian leader was not to be trusted, but Europe needed to do everything it could to support President Trump in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.President Nawrocki was already well-known as a firm supporter of Donald Trump even before he landed in Britain for meetings with PM Sir Keir Starmer and others. Now, he says that with Vladimir Putin's Russia threatening his country as well as central and eastern Europe, the US president was the only person who could, as he put it, solve this problem – as well as ending the war in Ukraine.Referring to last September's mass incursion by Russian drones, when more than 20 uncrewed aircraft crossed into Poland from Belarus and Ukraine, President Nawrocki called it an extraordinary situation, adding that until that time, no NATO member state had experienced a drone attack on that scale. Russia, he said, was testing Poland's defenses and testing NATO's solidarity.The Polish president then thanked Britain for sending over RAF Typhoon jets to help defend his borders. He said Poland has been in a state of hybrid war with Russia since 2021, as it dealt with drones and disinformation. This Russian grey zone activity showed, we are living in dangerous times, he added.When asked about his relationship with Donald Trump, particularly in light of Trump's earlier controversial remarks regarding Greenland, Nawrocki insisted that the US remains the guarantor of security in Europe. He emphasized that what Trump was doing on behalf of the Europeans deserved support and great respect.The Polish president also critiqued European leaders for focusing on less critical issues at the expense of security and defense, urging a renewed commitment to military resilience, as Poland allocates nearly 5% of its GDP to defense.Overall, Nawrocki recognized the significance of Polish-British relations, highlighting the contributions of British troops stationed in Poland in support of NATO's eastern flank.
