Speaking to about 150,000 people gathered in front of the Georgian parliament, President Kaczyński warned that Russia was attempting to re-establish its domination in the region.
“Today Georgia, tomorrow Ukraine, the day after tomorrow – the Baltic States and later, perhaps, time will come for my country, Poland,” the President proclaimed.
His speech would later take on portentous significance as Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and sparked a continuing armed conflict in the country’s Donbas region which preceded the full invasion of Ukraine on 24th February this year.
Then, as of now, Poland’s President also urged the international community to take action.
“We are here to make sure the world makes an even more powerful response, including, in particular, the European Union and NATO,” the President said.
The hostilities ceased shortly thereafter, but the conflict had a profound geopolitical impact, being widely considered as Russia’s warning, intended for all countries within its sphere of influence, against embarking on a course towards western organizations such as NATO.