If Putin wins in Ukraine, he “will attack other states”, Poland’s Duda warns

13.03.2024 13:20

Ukrinform

Polish President Andrzej Duda, who scrambled to convince the U.S. to approve continued aid to Kyiv, has warned that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will attack other countries if he wins the war against Ukraine.

Duda spoke with Bloomberg, Ukrinform reports.

"Today, Ukraine needs to make sure that Putin does not win the war. We are a nation that has been enslaved by Russia several times. If Russia wins the war in Ukraine, if Putin wins the war, he will attack one more time. He will attack other states. Because this is Russian imperialism reborn and it is greedy. (…) That is why it has to be stopped, it has to be blocked. And it has to be punished," said Duda.

Duda's comments came after he and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the White House at a critical moment in the war in Ukraine, which is trying to repel a Russian invasion. The U.S., Poland and other allies of Ukraine are exploring opportunities to provide additional aid to Kyiv as the war grinds on into its third year and the country's weapons stocks are dwindling, Bloomberg notes.

Duda, who also met with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday, said he stressed to U.S. lawmakers the need to confront the Russian threat.

Duda's visit to Washington was timed to the 25th anniversary of Poland's NATO membership. The Polish leader reiterated his calls to the Allies to increase their defense spending commitments. Biden praised Poland for spending nearly 4% of GDP on defense, double the 2% threshold set for Allies. Duda sought to raise that threshold to 3%.

In some foreign capitals, concern is growing about the future of the military alliance as such and the U.S. obligations before its allies.

Asked how he would convince NATO members to increase their defense contributions, Duda cited as an example the initial resistance to opening negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union immediately after the Russian invasion. "Two to three months in, they were already saying completely different things," Duda said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Tuesday, the White House officially announced the a $300 million security and defense assistance package for Ukraine, which includes HIMARS munitions, artillery rounds, and other weapons.