US warns Poland of possible Russian attack, The Telegraph reports
Photo: Russian military equipment (Getty Images)
Russia is planning armed provocations against Poland in the coming months. It could carry out drone strikes or even launch a limited ground incursion, reports The Telegraph.
According to sources close to Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki, Washington has already warned Warsaw several times about the threat.
Russia could reportedly use drones to attack critical infrastructure, such as power plants, or simulate air strikes to force Poland to activate its air defense systems.
The most extreme scenario has also not been ruled out — a brief ground incursion by Russian or Belarusian troops into border regions. Any ground attack could be launched from Belarus or Russia's Kaliningrad region.
The Kremlin could portray such an operation as an accident caused by a GPS malfunction or fabricate a fake rescue mission for one of its helicopters that allegedly crashed.
Why would Russia do that?
The Telegraph writes that Moscow's main goal would be to force Warsaw into negotiations under pressure from Washington instead of responding with military force. Russia would regard it as a victory if it withdrew its troops from Polish territory as a result of political agreements rather than being driven out militarily.
Polish intelligence agencies believe that during such negotiations, the Kremlin would demand an end to military support for Ukraine in exchange for withdrawing from Polish territory. Russia could also cynically try to blame Ukraine for orchestrating the provocations.
A source told the newspaper that the United States has been systematically informing Warsaw about Russia's plans. Similar armed incidents involving one of the Baltic states were also discussed in Moscow. Security sources in the region confirmed that such risks are entirely real.
The Guardian reported that Russia had been conducting an espionage operation against strategic nuclear facilities in several EU countries for 18 months. To gather intelligence, the Russians used drones launched from ships belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet.
Intelligence agencies are warning that Russia is preparing new provocations against NATO countries. The Russian president seeks to test how willing the US is to defend the Alliance’s smallest members. Poland and the Baltic states are in the zone of potential risk.
