'US will defend every inch of NATO,' Kamala Harris tells Polish leader

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) - As Russia’s war on Ukraine, at NATO’s doorstep, enters its third week, “the US is prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory,” said the nation’s vice president in Warsaw on Thursday.

“The US takes seriously that an attack on one is an attack on all,” Kamala Harris told a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the country’s capital, referring to the famous Article 5 of the NATO Charter.

Amid a war which shows “atrocity at its utmost level,” relations between the US and Poland have grown even stronger, she added, one day after a Russian attack devastated a maternity hospital in Ukraine.

Harris’ visit also came as part of efforts to heal a rift after the US rejected a plan for Poland to supply jet fighters to Ukraine using the US as an intermediary.

Poland borders Ukraine to the east, and over 1.4 million refugees of the war have crossed its borders – more than any other country.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow, and spurred an exodus of global companies from Russia.

At least 516 civilians have been killed and 908 others injured in Ukraine so far, according to UN figures, with the real toll feared to be higher.

More than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.