The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Duda denounces Russia for 'imperial greed,' reiterates calls to deploy US nuclear weapons in Poland

by Volodymyr Ivanyshyn March 16, 2025 2:01 AM 2 min read
Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv during a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on June 28, 2023. (Photo by Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Polish President Andrzej Duda denounced Russia for its "imperial greed" in a wide-ranging interview with the BBC published on March 15.

Duda called on the U.S. to deploy its nuclear weapons to Poland in an interview published on March 13. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he would be "shocked" if the U.S. fulfilled Poland's request in response to Duda later that day.

"Ukraine must be sovereign and independent because otherwise there will be no peace, it will only be the end of the war due to the occupation of Ukraine by Russia," Duda said.

The Polish president expressed his trust in U.S. President Donald Trump in resolving Russia's war against Ukraine, saying accusations that Trump does not want to see Ukraine at the negotiating table are "false."

"(A)s I understand it, President Trump does not want to be a participant, but rather a mediator," Duda said.

The Polish leader noted that Ukraine's meeting with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on March 11 ended on a positive note.

At the bilateral meeting, the White House agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv. Ukraine agreed to a U.S. proposal for a temporary 30-day ceasefire, Russia did not.

"The meeting with Ukraine was successful, and the Russian side, as you can see, is behaving the way it is behaving," Duda said.

Russia is an "aggressor" that invaded Ukraine and is "killing civilians," Duda said, adding that Russia transferred nuclear weapons to Belarus as an "obvious offensive tactic" and not for defense purposes.

"As long as Russia uses offensive tactics, Russia is an aggressor. Russia attacked Ukraine without reason, it was not provoked in any way. It is an attack that was justified only by Russia's imperial greed, which wants to subjugate a state and its people," Duda said.

The Polish president reiterated his calls for U.S. nuclear weapons to be stationed in Poland and welcomed calls for a French nuclear umbrella to protect Europe, including Poland.

"(I)t is a security issue because these weapons are not offensive, these weapons are defensive. I emphasize again, they are intended to protect primarily from a nuclear attack," Duda said.

"Secondly, it was Russia, without asking anyone, that deployed its nuclear weapons in Belarus. This is no secret to anyone, Putin openly spoke about it in an interview," Duda added.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko previously said that the transfer of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus was completed in early October 2023.

‘Painful for Russia:’ What new U.S. sanctions on Russian energy mean for Moscow
The Trump administration dealt a blow to Russia’s energy sector last week after it let lapse an exemption allowing Russian banks to use U.S. payment systems for energy transactions. The move closed an important financial channel for Russian oil and gas exports and comes as Washington looks for ways

News Feed

3:15 PM

Inside Ukraine's desperate fight to stabilize Donbas front.

Amid the escalating geopolitical circus, Ukrainian soldiers fighting in between order and chaos assert that the only way to stop Russia remains on the battlefield. The Kyiv Independent spent two weeks in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove sectors of the front line in Donetsk Oblast, speaking to infantry and artillery commanders, medics, and the civilians now coming into Russia's line of fire.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.