VLADIMIR PUTIN'S attempts to destabilise Europe may have brought Western nations into closer alignment. After the UK signed historic mutual security agreements with Finland and Sweden, Poland has said it would also come to their defence if attacked.
According to Polish news outlet Onet, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed that his country would help, even before the two nations had joined the NATO military alliance. The two Scandinavian nations formally applied to join on Wednesday over growing concerns about Russia.
He said: "I would like to clearly say that in the event of an attack on Sweden or Finland during their accession process to NATO, Poland will come to their aid".
Mr Morawiecki stressed that the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO would be "a significant signal of strengthening security in Europe and a serious defeat for the Kremlin".
He added that a permanent allied base should be built in the countries on NATO's eastern flank.
Last Wednesday, Boris Johnson travelled to the two Scandinavian nations to sign agreements that ensure military assistance if either nation is attacked. The same is true for if the UK were to be attacked.
The Prime Minister and Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson said co-operation was now "even more important" given the invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson said the "solemn declaration" between the UK and Finland was reflective of the "extreme difficulty of the times we are in".
A week later, the two nations formally applied to join NATO.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, said at the time the two nations were the alliance's "closest partners" already.
The news was received with ire in Moscow, however. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would have to "rebalance the situation".
The Russian Foreign Ministry threatened a "military-technical" response if the two nations were to join the military alliance.
Ahead of the announcement, adverts had been posted online from bus stops in Russia, depicting Swedish national heroes as Nazis.
The advert reportedly stated: "We are against Nazism, they are not."
However, Putin later played down the significance of the move, saying on Monday that it posed "no direct threat for Russia".
Speaking at a conference today (Thursday), the Polish Prime Minister said that the alleged atrocities against Ukrainian civilians at the hands of Russian soldiers "should wake us up from our geopolitical nap".
In a stark warning, Mr Morawiecki said that if Ukraine won the war, it would be "her victory above all", but that Ukraine's loss would be a loss for the entire world.
He called on other nations to continue to "isolate" the Russian President through political and economic sanctions, adding: "Diplomacy requires dialogue, but you cannot negotiate with terrorists."
Explaining the reasoning behind his staunch support of Sweden and Finland even before they have joined NATO, Mr Morawiecki commented: "It is not enough to win the war, we must not lose and not lose the peace.
"We must decide together that Russia will never again threaten peace in Europe. And the price of maintaining peace must also be borne by other countries, apart from the EU and NATO."
Poland neighbours Ukraine and sits on the eastern flank of NATO's European territory.
Since Putin's invasion nearly three months ago, it has provided approximately £1.7billion in military aid and has taken on millions of refugees fleeing the fighting.
It has also been one of several countries to receive further NATO military units since war broke out.
However, in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mr Morawiecki called for military installations to be placed along the alliance's eastern border.
He said: "Poland is ready to build such bases that would be a place for stationing light troops on a permanent basis."
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1612709/Poland-news-Russia-war-Ukraine-Vladimir-Putin-NATO-base-Eastern-Europe
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