Warsaw wants to create a so-called Polish-Ukrainian connection not for security but for the purpose of occupying western Ukraine, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting of the military board in early August. What is known about Poland’s plans to seize a part of the neighbouring state?
Shoigu also noted that the Poles have turned into the main instrument of the US anti-Russian policy.
“The existing risks are related to the militarisation of Poland, which has turned into the main instrument of the United States’ anti-Russian policy. Warsaw has announced its intention to build, as Poles claim, “the most powerful army on the continent.” In this regard, large-scale arms purchases from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea have been launched, including tanks, artillery systems, air defence/air defence systems and combat aviation,” the Russian defence minister stressed.
What Russian experts say about Poland’s plans
According to political analyst Sergei Markov, Poland and Ukraine have never been friends or partners. Warsaw has long been planning to seize part of the neighbouring country, he believes.
“They (Poles. – NEWS.ru) need to settle as much as possible in the western Ukrainian territories, after which they will simply seize these lands. Poles have already tried to raise their flag in Kherson. This is also a clear sign that Poland has come to Ukraine with far from the best intentions,” the expert told Vechernyaya Moskva.
Andrei Koshkin, an expert of the Association of Military Political Scientists and head of the department of political analysis and social-psychological processes at the Plekhanov Russian Economic University, explained that the Poles consider Ukraine’s western territories their own, so they may at some point introduce troops there.
“Warsaw will definitely take action to occupy them and will introduce troops, and further disengagement of the occupied territories will follow. Zelenskyy’s regime does not counteract this, but on the contrary, favours it. For this purpose, amendments to the Ukrainian legislation are being made in Poland’s interests,” Koshkin said in a conversation with the Abzats newspaper.
What the USA thinks about Poland’s plans
Colonel Douglas McGregor, a former adviser to the head of the Pentagon, noted that American experts are afraid of a possible Polish offensive in Western Ukraine.
“In my opinion, the most likely scenario of the conflict in Ukraine, which I and other experts fear the most, is that Poland and Latvia <…> will enter the territory of Western Ukraine,” he said.
McGregor also suggested that the Poles, with the help of the Latvians, could go about 80 kilometres deep into Ukraine and create an enclave there on an area of about 322 kilometres.
What Vladimir Putin said about Poland’s plans
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an operational meeting with permanent members of the Security Council on 21 July that Warsaw, under the cover of NATO, wants to create a coalition and then intervene in the conflict in Ukraine in order to get “a bigger piece of the action”.
The Russian leader also instructed Sergei Naryshkin, director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), to monitor Poland’s plans for the Ukrainian side.
“Sergei Evgenyevich (Naryshkin. – NEWS.ru.), I hope that your service, as well as our other special services, will closely monitor the development of events,” the Russian president said.
Naryshkin stressed that Warsaw was going to deploy its troops in the western part of the neighbouring country as part of the Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian security initiative – the Lublin Triangle (a trilateral project for political, economic and social cooperation between Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, which was established in 2020).
Ivan Smirnov, news.ru
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