In fresh days Polish president Andrzej Duda has called on the United States to deploy atomic weapons in Poland as a deterrent to possible aggression from Russia as shortly as possible.
Duda, in a conversation with the Financial Times, stressed that since NATO expanded east in 1999, it should be a natural step to adapt the Alliance's infrastructure to this change.
"It's apparent to me," he said, stressing that Poland should have access to American atomic weapons under the atomic Sharing programme. He pointed out that in 2022 this was unsuccessfully proposed by Joe Biden's administration.
The president noted that the final decision in this case was Donald Trump's. He recalled that Russia had without hesitation deployed tactical atomic weapons in Belarus in 2023, without consulting anyone.
Referring to the statements of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Duda admitted that the alternate could be to extend the French atomic umbrella to European allies, as proposed by president Emmanuel Macron. However, he rejected the anticipation of Poland building its own atomic arsenal.
"It would take decades," he said.
In consequence to these suggestions, U.S. Vice president J.D. Vance in an interview with Fox News stated he would be shocked if president Donald Trump supported the deployment of atomic weapons further east of Europe. Vance pointed out that he had not spoken to the president about this, but considers specified a step unlikely.
President Duda's proposal met mixed reactions on the Polish political scene. Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested that specified issues should be discussed discreetly to avoid misunderstandings and tensions. However, he stressed that the president had good intentions, aiming to strengthen the safety of the country.
According to a poll by the Pollster investigation Institute for Super Express, most Poles support the thought of deploying atomic weapons within the country. As many as 63% of respondents advocated specified a solution, while 37% disagreed. The survey was conducted on 7-9 March 2025 on a example of 1015 people. The results show that president Andrzej Duda's request to participate Poland in the atomic Sharing programme has broad public support.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine 3 years ago, Poland has importantly increased its defence spending, reaching 4.1% of GDP last year and planning 4.7% in this year. president Duda even suggested entering a minimum level of defence spending at 4% of GDP in the constitution, which shows Poland's increasing commitment to national safety issues.
In the face of increasing geopolitical tensions, president Duda's call for the deployment of atomic weapons in Poland is an crucial part of the discussion on the future of safety in the region of Central and east Europe.
