Poland's president announces readiness to accommodate nuclear weapons, triggering a reaction from Moscow.
Poland's President, Andrzej Duda, announced during a visit to the United States that his country is prepared to host nuclear weapons from its NATO allies. This statement prompted a response from Russia, which stated it would analyze the situation and take necessary steps to ensure its security.
Duda's initial comments were made in an interview with Polish newspaper Fakt, where he discussed the concept of "nuclear sharing," a NATO arrangement where countries without nuclear weapons host those from allies that possess them. He mentioned that discussions on this topic had been ongoing for some time.
Duda cited Russia's increasing militarization of the Kaliningrad district, bordering Poland, and its alleged relocation of nuclear weapons to Belarus as reasons for Poland's readiness to host such weapons to bolster NATO's eastern flank.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Duda's remarks by stating that the military would analyze the situation and take necessary steps to ensure Russia's security.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed a desire to speak with Duda to understand the intention behind his statement, suggesting that Duda may not have consulted with the government beforehand.
Currently, the US, the UK, and France are the only NATO members with their own nuclear weapons. However, under the nuclear sharing program, these weapons are also hosted in several other NATO countries.
Poland's interest in hosting nuclear weapons is possibly linked to its procurement of F-35 combat aircraft from the US, capable of carrying B61 nuclear bombs. The first of these aircraft is expected to arrive later this year, with deployment capability by 2026.