Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, said that war with Poland would only occur if Poland attacked Russia. “We are not interested in invading Poland, Latvia, or anywhere else. Why should we do that? We have no interest in it. It’s spreading panic,” he argued. However, he emphasized that Russia will fight for its interests to the end and has not yet achieved its goals in the war in Ukraine, “especially in terms of denazification of Ukraine.”
Putin also said that the name “Ukraine” was coined by the Poles, who referred to the Rus’ territories that were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as such. He argued that the Polish-Lithuanian state treated the inhabitants of Ukraine harshly, which is why they wanted to come under the protection of the Russian Tsar.
Putin reminded that Poland occupied Zaolzie during the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in 1938. Therefore, in his opinion, Poland shares responsibility for World War II.
The interview has sparked many negative comments. According to Polish and Ukrainian media, Putin appeared in the interview as an uneducated megalomaniac who tells an untrue version of history, whitewashing Russia and justifying its crimes.