Polish president calls on NATO to act fast if Russia attacks

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) - Polish President Andrzej Duda has urged NATO to act faster in the event of an attack from Russia, emphasizing new security plans for the alliance's eastern flank.

“We want to be as self-sufficient as possible, and we take our security… and what we can offer our allies… very seriously. However, we expect new security plans for the alliance's eastern flank. We would like NATO to react faster to a potential attack,” Duda said at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Wednesday.

The call comes two days after NATO jets intercepted three Russian military planes near Poland.

The Netherlands’ Ministry of Defense had said an unknown aircraft approached Poland’s NATO area of responsibility from Kaliningrad – a Russian enclave located between NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania.

“We want to be perceived as a credible ally on NATO's eastern flank,” Duda said, adding that Poland is undertaking activities within NATO aimed at helping Ukraine, including beefing up arms warehousing infrastructure on the border with Ukraine.

Duda did not comment on whether NATO should allow member states to send warplanes to help Ukraine fight Russia.

On Jan. 30, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland could provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets if NATO backed the decision. However, Duda said at the start of the week that Poland may not be able to deliver Western fighter jets to the war-torn country.

Poland was among the first to promise tanks to Ukraine.

Poland is hesitant because it fears depleting its own small fleet of combat aircraft, which consists of fewer than 50 jets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for long-range artillery and ammunition, air defense systems, missiles, and fighter jets.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Poland on Feb. 20 to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion and meet with Duda and other allies.

The US has yet to commit to sending F-16s to Ukraine, though Secretary of State Antony Blinken has not ruled it out.​​​​​​​