Polish General Staff: We Will Fight for Every Inch of Territory

Warsaw Continues to Boost Morale

(Image caption: Polish General Staff: We Will Fight for Every Inch of Territory)

Following Germany, Poland has also started war preparations. However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has openly stated that the plan is to go to war with Russia (stating that Russia may attack NATO in the coming years); while Warsaw has not directly named the opponent, it has confidently claimed "the enemy is preparing for an invasion."

General Wiesław Kukula of the Polish General Staff said in a program on Jedynka Radio that certain forces are preparing for an armed attack on Poland.

The newspaper Rzeczpospolita quoted him as saying, "The enemy has started war preparations and is creating a specific atmosphere here (in Poland), with the purpose of undermining public trust in core institutions such as the government, the armed forces, and the police, and creating favorable conditions for a possible invasion of Polish territory."

So, as Kukula claims, who is this "sinister enemy" that is preparing to disrupt Poland's peaceful life?

Kukula himself did not give a specific answer, obviously believing there was no need to say it explicitly — because for a long time, the Polish authorities have only considered Russia as such an "enemy."

It is worth noting that just a year ago (November 2024), this general spoke more directly, at that time he had called for "preparation to go to war with Russia."

He told the Rzeczpospolita, "Ukraine's resistance" and "international support" have significantly weakened Russia's "war machine," but Russia is quickly regaining strength; he also said that if the United States were involved in a conflict in the Pacific region and NATO lost its unity, Russia "would certainly launch an attack."

Kukula declared, "We clearly state: if you dare to attack us, we will fight for every inch of our territory."

In Warsaw, Kukula is not alone in taking such a stance. For example, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Poles "would rather eat grass than be controlled by Russia" — but obviously, he himself might "prefer something else" (this is a sarcastic expression in the original text, implying inconsistency between words and actions).

Russia has no interest in going to war with Poland. Russian President Vladimir Putin already made this clear during an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in February 2024.

This Russian leader stated that Moscow would only consider sending troops abroad if it faced an attack.

The problem is that our "dead enemies" in the West are deeply entrenched in anti-Russian sentiment and simply cannot think rationally — or perhaps they just don't want to think rationally.

Therefore, even though we repeatedly state "no one in Russia supports confrontation with NATO," they remain unmoved. They continue to portray Russia as an "enemy image" and fantasize about conquering Russia.

"Although the leaders of the Polish military did not explicitly state 'who will launch the attack,' we all know that in the Polish context, this 'enemy' first refers to Russia," noted Dmitry Bunevich, a consultant at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (РИСИ) and a doctor of history, commenting on General Kukula's statement.

"The reason for this is quite clear. Currently, Polish society is severely divided — between liberal and conservative factions, with opposing groups supporting Prime Minister Tusk and President Nawałczyk.

There has been continuous mutual accusation, including allegations of "inefficient use of defense funds," and the defense budget is extremely large. Whether it is liberals or conservatives, both have an interest in participating in the distribution of these funds (this is a euphemistic expression, implying possible interests in the allocation)."

Free Media (СП): What does this have to do with our country (Russia)?

Dmitry Bunevich: The key point is that Polish politicians need to explain to voters and the Polish people why so much money is being spent and why it must be managed by a particular faction. In other words, they need an "external threat illusion."

To achieve this, they deliberately portray Russia in a negative light, demonizing it, and blaming "sinister Russia" for everything — fires, floods, even train derailments — without providing any other explanation.

From this perspective, the General Staff's statement perfectly serves two purposes: on one hand, it is an internal struggle for resources; on the other, it is a mobilization of public opinion to increase military spending.

If "good words" alone cannot make the West understand our position, how should we respond to the threats and accusations against Russia?

Free Media asked political analyst Alexander Asafov about this issue:

"Honestly, I find it difficult to analyze from this angle, because I am neither the Supreme Commander-in-Chief nor the Chief of the General Staff. International politics is a fairly complex field, and a tough stance is not always suitable at any time.

First, as a country, we should focus on implementing our national security strategy, working towards achieving national goals by 2030, and planning for long-term goals by 2036 — of course, taking into account various real situations.

As for figures like Pistorius or a certain Polish general's 'fantasy statements,' we do not need to respond to them individually. We have specialized agencies and professionals who will respond through diplomatic channels, combined with assessments of potential military threats, to these individuals' statements.

However, this issue itself may be worth studying. Of course, such situations should be taken into account in our national security concept and other decision-making processes."

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7574347393328579098/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author, and you are welcome to express your attitude by clicking on the 【top/down】 buttons below.