Poland preparing its largest aid package for Ukraine as Russia escalates hybrid war, Sikorski says
Poland is preparing its largest aid package for Ukraine and will not be intimidated by escalating Russian attacks, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said, warning that Moscow's hybrid war against Europe has already taken on a "kinetic" dimension.
"We are preparing the largest, major aid package for Ukraine. We will not be intimidated," Sikorski told Polish Radio on Sept. 17. "The more Russia bombs Ukraine, the more solidarity we should show with Ukraine and Ukrainians."
Asked whether Poland would take part in accelerating deliveries of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, an initiative recently announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Sikorski said questions about specific military supplies should be directed to Poland's Defense Ministry.
Sikorski said Warsaw expects Russia to further escalate its hybrid activities and is preparing accordingly.
"We are expecting further escalation of this hybrid war, which already has a kinetic dimension," he said.
The Polish foreign minister pointed to armed drones and missiles entering Polish and Lithuanian airspace, as well as Russian attacks striking targets close enough to Poland's border to be heard from the Polish side.
He also cited bomb plots, attempts to set fire to commercial aircraft and other acts of sabotage as examples of Russian activities that he described as being "on the border between hybrid warfare and outright aggression."
"Russia is clearly escalating, so we need to prepare," Sikorski said.
His comments came days after a Russian attack damaged a gas station near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing between Ukraine and Poland, as well as a locomotive nearby.
Following the Sept. 13 attack, Sikorski said "Russian terrorism is already in the house," describing strikes so close to Poland as another step in Moscow's escalation.