Europe is "under attack from Russia", Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said, adding that hybrid attacks range from cyberwarfare and political assassinations to sabotage and the use of migration as a weapon, DPA reported, citing a statement by the Polish top diplomat at a press conference in Berlin.
The Polish EU presidency will "focus on security". Warsaw believes that its repeated warnings about the threat emanating from Moscow have proven correct, Sikorski stressed.
Nearly three years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia is carrying out diverse attacks on European territory, the Polish foreign minister noted, recalling the murder committed in Berlin in 2019. and "political murders" in Britain.
"Sabotages are being carried out in other countries: in the Czech Republic, in Lithuania, in Poland", added Sikorski, referring to the cases of arson, threats and destruction of infrastructure that have caused concern in Eastern Europe in recent years.
These events can be directly linked to the Russian intelligence service GRU, believes the 61-year-old politician, who previously held the post of defense minister. "We have captured people who were recruited by the GRU and received instructions and money" for the arson, he added.
In addition, European countries have been exposed to "constant cyberattacks" for years, Sikorski stressed, mentioning "interference" in the Brexit referendum held in Britain. He described the influx of migrants to Poland's eastern border as a "joint operation by Russia and Belarus."
Events like what happened in Romania, where the first round of the presidential election was annulled in December after the unexpected victory of a little-known pro-Russian candidate, should be a "wake-up call," the Polish minister added. "Someone paid for a campaign in his favor on social media," he stressed.
According to Sikorski, the strategy behind the series of Russian attacks is obvious: "Vladimir Putin is clearly provoking us and trying to manipulate our electoral systems and our institutions, in order to restore Russian control over the territory of another country, as well as to destroy the Western alliance."
The best strategy for Europe is to "start taking European defense seriously," the foreign minister stressed. "Strength deters, weakness encourages," he warned.
Polish defense spending is expected to reach 4.7% of GDP this year, he added. "I hope others in NATO will also increase their spending, because Vladimir Putin is at 8% or more," Sikorski said. He said there were no signs of a ceasefire in the conflict in Ukraine.
"Putin thinks he is winning, and the war will only end when Putin stops fighting," the Polish minister warned.
He said that until the war ends, the possible deployment of European peacekeepers remained a "hypothetical discussion."
However, Sikorski rejected the idea that Poland could mediate in the conflict, saying its position was not neutral. "We are Ukraine's best friend," he said. "And we consider Putin's Russia an enemy country."