Tusk cautious

Vance gives nuclear weapons in Poland a rebuff

US Vice President JD Vance

(Bild: AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Polish President Andrzej Duda has called on the US government to transfer nuclear weapons to his country. This is intended to ward off future Russian aggression. US Vice President JD Vance has now rejected the demand. He has not yet spoken to Donald Trump.

"But I would be shocked if he were in favor of extending nuclear weapons to Europe," he said in an interview. Poland's President Andrzej Duda had previously called for the USA to station nuclear weapons in Poland. He had already discussed this proposal with Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. NATO's borders had been moved eastwards in 1999, but this had not yet applied to the infrastructure. It would be safer if nuclear weapons were already in Poland.

Poland's government is a close ally of Ukraine and has strengthened its defenses to fend off a possible threat from Russia. The Kremlin has warned that it will take action if nuclear weapons are actually stationed in Poland.

Poland's President Duda

(Bild: APA/AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Duda: "Russia moved nuclear weapons to Belarus"
Duda has now gone one better: The Russian government itself had not hesitated to move nuclear weapons to Belarus and had not asked anyone for permission beforehand. The tactical nuclear weapons were transferred to neighboring Belarus in the summer of 2023.

Poland's head of government Donald Tusk said on Thursday that he appreciated the president's efforts to ensure the country's security. However, he said it was better to solve "these kinds of problems discreetly". Tusk had previously stated that Poland would indeed be safer with its own nuclear weapons, "but the road to get there would be very long". French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a nuclear umbrella for Europe last week.

Russia and the EU have the largest nuclear arsenals in the world. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons to Russia in 1994 in exchange for security guarantees. Poland's government has already massively expanded its own military since the start of the war in Ukraine.