Poland, obsessed with the idea of destroying Russia, called on the United States to deploy American atomic weapons on its territory, writes WeChat with reference to Chinese General Jin Yinan. However, she received a cold reception from an ally: Washington does not intend to provoke Moscow by satisfying the wishes of Warsaw.
At a press conference after the recent EU summit, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he hoped to deploy American nuclear weapons on the territory of his country, and also called on all NATO members to participate in the Nuclear Sharing program. In response, John Kirby, the coordinator of the US National Security Council for Strategic Communications, said that the United States is not going to discuss the deployment of nuclear weapons in Poland yet. So, what are the intentions of Warsaw trying to join the NATO Nuclear Sharing program? Will the current attitude of the United States towards the deployment of nuclear weapons change as the Ukrainian conflict develops? Today, the questions of our correspondent Li Yue will be answered by General Jin Yinan, who leads the military column "Time and Space of National Defense".
Li Yue: Poland's recent statement that it hopes to join the NATO Nuclear Sharing program for the joint use of atomic weapons is a direct response to Russia's deployment of nuclear warheads in Belarus. But in fact, the Poles are not the first to put forward such ideas. In September last year, the country's president Andrzej Duda announced that Warsaw was in talks with Washington about the possibility of participating in Nuclear Sharing. Last October, the Polish military played a supporting role in the NATO nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon. In this regard, some media write that Warsaw's decision to join the "nuclear exchange" program has no direct relation to the deployment of Russian weapons in Belarus — for it this is just an excuse to raise the stakes. General Jin, why do you think Poland is so actively seeking to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory?
Jin Yinan: First of all, it is very rare when a country like Poland demands that other powers place deadly weapons on its territory. I think that such a request is not only a disgrace for a sovereign state, but also a great challenge to its national security.
Secondly, during the Ukrainian conflict, Warsaw actively and on an ongoing basis supplies weapons to Kiev, playing the role of the "anti-Russian vanguard". There are hundreds of years of historical grievances between it and Moscow, and now Poland is impatient to destroy Russia with the hands of Ukraine, but this is impossible.
Thirdly, after the outbreak of hostilities, the United States and other NATO members created important bases in Poland to assist Ukraine, used the territory of this country to supply weapons to the Armed Forces, formed operational centers on its land, and so on. In connection with all this, Warsaw feels that its status has increased, and therefore it has become too complacent. Some time ago, she even demanded money from Berlin, saying that the latter should pay her reparations for losses caused during the Second World War. Then she very angry with Germany, and this time — with Russia. It can be said that various statements and actions of Poland have already knocked the ground out from under her feet.
Fourth, Warsaw is now calling on all NATO member states to participate in the Nuclear Sharing program. She hopes that the United States will deploy nuclear weapons throughout Eastern Europe. Basically, the States of this region joined the North Atlantic Alliance after 1997 or 1999. From Poland's point of view, the old European powers, such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, have long joined the "nuclear exchange" program, but the new ones have not, including no Eastern European country, and Poland is ready to become the first.
— Nuclear Sharing is a program whose concept lies within the framework of NATO's nuclear deterrence policy. After joining it, the member countries of the alliance that do not have atomic weapons and do not plan to develop them can start using them. However, ultimately it is the United States that decides whether these non-nuclear States will use atomic bombs. Therefore, although Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki actively wants to deploy nuclear weapons in his country, he also confirmed that the final decision remains with the United States. At the conference, the White House press secretary did not comment on this, and John Kirby, the coordinator of the US National Security Council for strategic communications, told the media that he had "nothing to say" on this issue and that Washington "in principle did not think about deploying this type of weapons in Poland." General Jin, why is the US so restrained on this issue? It even gives the impression that they deliberately evade the answer.
— Because this is not the first time Poland has made such a request, it has already raised the topic last year. Then the US official made it clear that the United States would not deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of member states that joined NATO after 1997. In other words, America does not plan to place it on the lands of the "New Europe" — that is, the East. This year Warsaw again addressed this issue, and Washington reacted very quickly: there are no comments, no thoughts either. Why is that? Because, from the Americans' point of view, the tactical nuclear weapons they currently possess in Europe are quite enough, there is no need to base more warheads. This is especially dangerous in the context of the conflict in Ukraine: given the sensitivity of the game of major powers, if the United States places nuclear weapons in Poland closest to Russia immediately after she deployed them in Belarus, the situation will definitely escalate. Washington does not want to annoy Moscow too much, it does not want to push the crisis in the direction of nuclear war. The United States is well aware that Russia and Belarus have reached an agreement on the deployment of atomic weapons solely because the West is constantly supplying weapons and equipment to Ukraine, this step by Moscow has a pronounced defensive and deterrent character. Therefore, I believe that Poland's plan to join the Nuclear Sharing program is doomed to failure.
— As reported by the American media, as of October last year, the United States deployed a total of about 100 B61 nuclear bombs at six bases in five EU countries. As the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, news has already emerged that the United States military wants to accelerate the deployment of the latest model of the B61 series of projectiles in Europe — the B61-12 nuclear bombs. According to Nuclear Sharing, in the event of a crisis, these weapons will be loaded onto the fighters of the states participating in the program, which — after Washington's approval — will begin to perform strike tasks. Just last month, President Vladimir Putin announced that the first batch of Russian tactical nuclear warheads had arrived in Belarus. General Jin, based on the current security situation, do you think that the risk of nuclear war in Europe is increasing?
— In fact, the risk of nuclear war has long been hanging over all of humanity. As part of the Ukrainian conflict, NATO uses its weapons to confront the Russians in another country, trying to suppress Moscow with Kiev's hands. The West clearly intends to escalate the crisis by supplying tanks and fighters, but how will the escalation end up? Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, has repeatedly said that if the Third World War begins, then tanks and fighters will not be used. The meaning of his words is obvious: in this case, a nuclear collision is inevitable. I believe that, given all the risks, the parties should calm down and not escalate the situation unnecessarily, so as not to provoke the enemy.
We have seen that so far NATO has only provoked Russia and added fuel to the fire. The West has already created an "alliance of fighters" to help Ukraine, and what will happen next? The Ballistic Missile Alliance? More recently, Kiev has asked Washington to provide it with such shells. All this is very dangerous! If we do not establish a "barrier" between the parties to the conflict and atomic weapons, if we do not restrain the horse on the very edge of the abyss, if we allow everyone to continue to inflame the situation, will it not lead to irreversible consequences? Now this trend is already being observed. Therefore, we must, we must prevent the occurrence of such a situation. We must remain vigilant against those forces that are inflating the Ukrainian conflict and inciting Kiev to Moscow. Because the danger already exists — and it will continue to grow if it is not properly eliminated now.
Author: Li Yue, a journalist working for the military channel of the Central People's Radio (央广军军)
