President Karol Nawrocki said in an interview with the British broadcaster BBC that Donald Trump is the only global leader capable of stopping Vladimir Putin from posing a threat to Europe. He emphasized that the hybrid war being waged by Russia shows that “we are living in dangerous times”.
During the two-day visit of the Polish president to London, the head of state gave an interview on the morning program “Today” on BBC Radio 4. In the conversation, he warned that the Russian leader cannot be trusted and that Europe must do everything in its power to support President Donald Trump in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine. In his view, the American leader is the only person who can “solve the problem” of Putin threatening Europe.
The interview also recalled the September Russian drone incursion over Poland from the territories of Belarus and Ukraine. Nawrocki described it as “an extraordinary situation”, explaining that “until then, no NATO member state had experienced drone attacks on such a scale”. He said that Russia is testing Poland’s defenses and NATO solidarity. On this occasion, he also mentioned the deployment by the British air force – for which he expressed gratitude to the United Kingdom – of Typhoon fighter jets, which support Poland in patrolling the eastern border of NATO.
Hybrid War as Russia’s Gray Zone of Operations
The president recalled that Poland has been on the front line of Russia’s hybrid war since 2021. He cited, as examples, Poland’s struggles with drone attacks and disinformation. He stressed that this Russian gray zone demonstrates that “we are living in dangerous times”.
In the later part of the conversation, the Polish president was asked about his friendship with Donald Trump and transatlantic relations. He emphasized that despite recent statements by American officials, the United States remains a guarantor of security in Europe. He warned against Europe cutting itself off from cooperation with the U.S., arguing that this would not serve either the economic or military security of the European Union. Nawrocki also criticized European politicians for engaging in “less important matters, ideological issues such as the European Green Deal, climate policy, migration issues” instead of building resilience and security.
He added that Poland is currently allocating nearly 5 percent of its GDP to defense.