cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2600244

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Poland’s foreign minister … used an annual address to parliament to send a sharp message to Russian leaders as war continues in neighboring Ukraine, asking: “Don’t you have enough land?”

Foreign Minster Radek Sikorski described the difficult situation Poland faces with the war across the border and the threat of its expansion, and voiced concerns about the “disintegration” of Western unity.

Poland, on NATO’s eastern flank, is one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters, and Sikorski used his speech to strongly criticize Russia.

He said, addressing Russian leaders: “Don’t you have enough land? Eleven time zones and still not enough? Take care of better governing what is within your borders according to international law.”

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“For Poland, the greatest threat would be the disintegration of the Western community. That is why we cannot afford illusions or inaction. We cannot afford to be alone,” Sikorski said.

He had a warning for Russia. “You will never rule here again, neither in Kyiv, nor in Vilnius, nor in Riga, nor in Tallinn, nor in Chisinau,” he said, listing the capitals of Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova.

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He also noted that the situation on the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine is “ambiguous,” and that Russian forces’ slow progress is paid for “with huge losses.”

“After three years of this stage of the war, which Putin planned for three days, Russian troops control only about 20% of Ukrainian territory and are still stuck in eastern Ukraine,” Sikorski said.

“It is estimated that the war has already cost Russia at least $200 billion, and almost a million Russian soldiers have been eliminated from the battlefield. Ukrainian losses are smaller, and they have not allowed either the capture of their capital or the installation of a puppet government.”