The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, has warned Russia that the alliance would defend Poland against any aggression and would do so without restraint. On a visit to Warsaw, he said:
When it comes to the defence of Poland and the general defence of Nato territory, if anyone were to miscalculate and think they can get away with an attack on Poland or any other ally, they will be met with the full force of this fierce alliance. Our reaction will be devastating. This must be clear to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and anyone else who wants to attack us.
Would Nato’s ‘full force’ be brought to bear against Russia if it infringed Poland’s sovereignty?
A full-scale Russian invasion of Poland, comparable to the strike against Ukraine which began in 2022, may not be imminent. Nevertheless, the Poles can be forgiven for regarding their eastern neighbour-but-one uneasily. Their country disappeared from the map between 1795 and 1918, largely absorbed by Russia, before it fought a two-year war against the Soviet Union in 1919-21 and was invaded from the east in 1939 when Nazi Germany struck from the west.
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