US Politics
Only Trump can stop Putin from threatening Europe, says Polish president
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Donald Trump is the only person who can stop Vladimir Putin from remaining a “threat” to the whole of Europe, Poland’s president has said.
Karol Nawrocki urged European leaders to assist the Trump administration in its efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Russia is still a threat for Europe,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Wednesday. “And Donald Trump, nowadays, is [the only] leader who can solve this problem and we have to support him in this process.”
At least 20 drones violated Polish airspace from Belarus and Ukraine last year, prompting a response from Nato in the form of Operation Eastern Sentry.
Mr Nawrocki called the incident an “extraordinary situation” and added that “until that time, no Nato member state had experienced a drone attack on that scale”. He believes Putin sought to test Polish and Nato defences and demanded a no-fly zone at the time.
“We in Poland, we don’t know a different Russia than aggressive Russia,” he continued. “It’s always the threat for Poland, for Europe and for central Europe. In history, we know only the Russia who is the threat. Even nowadays in the 21st century, after Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.”
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Mr Nawrocki, a Eurosceptic nationalist, was backed by Mr Trump in his election run last year and has remained loyal to him publicly ever since, visiting the White House in September 2025.
He appeared to dodge questions about Mr Trump’s controversial threat to take over Greenland, insisting that it is an issue that should be discussed between Denmark’s prime minister and the president.
Europe had been “involved in not so important things, in ideological issues such as green deal for instance, climate policy, migration issues”, he claimed.
Mr Nawrocki landed in Britain on Tuesday for a series of meetings with prime minister Keir Starmer and thanked the UK for sending RAF Typhoon jets to help fortify its borders.
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“I would like to express my very deep appreciation for the British soldiers who are stationed in Poland… taking responsibility for Nato’s eastern flank,” he said.
The government said that the leaders reflected on the “strength of the relationship” between the countries in a statement released on Tuesday.
“They agreed that both countries would deepen that relationship even further, from defence and security, to trade, commerce and education,” it continued.
Increasingly close cooperation on defence projects was good for both the bilateral relationship and European security, the prime minister added. They agreed on the “importance of securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.