Polish President Pushes to Host US Nuclear Weapons... To Counter This Place

President Duda Advocates for U.S. Nuclear Deployment in FT Interview
"Discussed with Special Envoy... Decision Lies with Trump"
"Putin Deployed Nuclear Weapons to Belarus Without Seeking Permission"

Andrzej Duda, President of Poland. Office of the President of Poland

As the theory of self-reliance spreads across various European countries, the President of Poland has requested the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Poland. On the 12th (local time), Yonhap News quoted the British Financial Times (FT) reporting that "Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, expressed the position that U.S. nuclear weapons should be deployed in Poland to counter Russia."

President Duda told the FT, "It is clear that U.S. President Donald Trump could redeploy nuclear warheads currently stored in Western Europe or the United States to Poland," adding, "The deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Poland is necessary." It is also known that he discussed this with Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

President Duda stated, "The borders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) already moved eastward in 1999, and after 26 years, NATO's infrastructure must also move eastward. This is an obvious fact," adding, "Not only is the time for (nuclear weapons redeployment) here, but I believe it would have been safer if those weapons had already been here."

While saying that the redeployment of nuclear weapons is "a decision for President Trump," he pointed out, "Russia did not hesitate at all to redeploy its nuclear weapons to Belarus. They did not seek anyone's permission." In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to redeploy strategic nuclear weapons to Belarus, which borders Poland.

According to the FT, this reflects growing concerns among Poland and neighboring countries that Russia might strengthen its military power as a result of peace negotiations with Ukraine, potentially posing a greater threat in the future.

Poland plans to spend 4.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense this year, the largest among NATO member countries. On the 7th, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that "military training for all adult men" will be promoted to prepare for threats arising from the Ukraine war. According to Prime Minister Tusk, the Polish military, including reserves, numbers about 200,000, with a goal to increase to 500,000. He also expressed the possibility of nuclear armament, saying, "Poland wants to acquire its own nuclear weapons, no matter how small the possibility."