Vladimir Putin: Any Polish aggression towards Belarus is equivalent to an attack on Russia

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, accused Poland of territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union and warned that any Polish aggression towards Belarus—Russia's close ally—would be considered an attack on Russia. According to Reuters, following the arrival of Russian Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, insecurity and tension at the Polish-Belarusian borders have increased, prompting Poland's security committee to decide to deploy its military units to the eastern border. Concurrently, Putin stated that Russia would respond to any 'aggression' against Belarus with all available means. The Russian President also referred to the western part of Poland as a gift from Stalin, the Soviet leader, to Poland, which provoked a reaction from the Polish Prime Minister, who labeled Stalin a 'war criminal.' Amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russia has deployed its tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus, prompting Boris Pistorius, the German Defense Minister, to emphasize NATO's support for defending Poland—as a NATO member. On the other hand, Putin claimed that there are media reports indicating plans by Polish-Lithuanian military units to occupy parts of Ukraine, accusing them of having ambitions for Belarusian territories. Over the past twenty years, Russia has built dozens of new military bases and reactivated its military installations along its borders with Western Europe. In 2014, Russia began a covert military operation in eastern Ukraine, and in 2022, with the onset of a neo-colonial war against Ukraine, it attempted to expand the Russian army westward. Earlier, Voice of America reported that in 2023, Russia began the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which borders Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia—three NATO member countries.