Polish President Andrzej Duda said on April 22 that Poland is “ready” to host nuclear weapons in case Nato decides to base them on its Eastern Flank.

The talk about boosting defence has become dominant in Polish politics since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which made Poland Nato’s strategic outpost practically overnight. Poland borders Ukraine, Russia’s ally Belarus and the Kaliningrad region, Russia’s exclave in the EU. Russia is thought to have stationed nuclear missiles in Kaliningrad, and has redeployed them to Belarus.

“Russia is increasingly militarising the Konigsberg (Kaliningrad) region. Recently, it has been relocating its nuclear weapons to Belarus,” Duda told Fakt.

“If our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons as part of nuclear sharing on our territory as well to strengthen the security of Nato’s Eastern Flank, we are ready for it,” Duda also said.

In more than two years since Russia’s war in Ukraine started, the threat of nuclear war has lurked beneath considerations about what the West’s best strategy to defeat the Kremlin in Ukraine is.

The West is wary of Russia’s large nuclear weapons arsenal that Russian President Vladimir Putin said – in more or less direct messages to the West leaders – he might use if Nato oversteps the limits of deterrence strategy.

Duda also claimed that he has been in talks about nuclear sharing with the US. “When asked about it, I declared our readiness,” the president said.

Duda’s straightforward declarations apparently did not go down well with the government, with which Duda is in political conflict.

“This concerns directly and very clearly Polish security. I would need to fully understand the president’s intentions,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters on April 22.

Tusk also said he is “very keen for Poland to be safe and as well-armed as possible” .

“But I would also like any initiatives to be primarily very well-prepared by the people responsible for them, and for us all to be convinced that this is what we all want," the PM said.

Meanwhile, Russia said that Duda’s interview was “provocative”.

“Warsaw seems to be maniacally seeking to attract even more attention from military planners in the Russian General Staff,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has stepped up its programme to strengthen its armed forces.

Warsaw plans to spend nearly 4% of its GDP on defence this year, twice the Nato-recommended level. The country’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorsky claimed earlier this year the figure could still be doubled if necessary.