Poland Calls for 'Heavy Brigade' of EU Troops Amid Rising Russia Threat

Poland has called for the creation of a "heavy brigade" of EU rapid-reaction forces that would be able to respond effectively to crises outside the bloc's borders, as fears grow of the possibility of Warsaw coming under attack from Moscow in the future.

In an interview with Polish TV channel TVP World released on Wednesday, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski detailed his country's priorities regarding European security.

The interview was published days after Sikorski said Poland "wouldn't be surprised at all" if Russia attacks. Poland's military has said throughout Moscow's war with Ukraine that Russian cruise missiles fired at western Ukraine have entered its airspace. Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

"We need to make sanctions more effective, and as you know, some member states are blocking or delaying them. We need to give countries refunds that they're owed from the European peace facility so that they can send more stuff to Ukraine," said Sikorski.

Poland also needs to prepare "in the realms of civil defense, of cybersecurity," the foreign minister said.

"But also, I've personally, in my previous capacity in the European Parliament but also now—I'm in favor of a heavy brigade, EU rapid-reaction capacity so that we don't have to call on the resources of the U.S. for every emergency on our periphery," said Sikorski.

This could include, for example, "some lower-order issue in the Balkans or in North Africa," he said. "Something that Europe should be capable of sorting out without calling on NATO and the United States."

On Sunday, in an interview with German newspaper Bild, the foreign minister highlighted the growing threat from Russia amid its ongoing war against neighboring Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

"Russia has attacked Poland many times in the 500 years of our history," he said. "But in this scenario, Russia will lose, because we, the West, are far more powerful than Russia."

He stressed the importance of Ukraine winning the ongoing war.

"We have a choice: either we have a defeated Russian army outside the borders of Ukraine or a victorious Russian army on the border with Poland. And what Putin would do then is what Hitler did with Czechoslovakia; he would take the industry and the people in Ukraine and mobilize them to keep going," Sikorski said. "It is better to stop Putin in Ukraine, 500 to 700 kilometers [310 to 435 miles] east of here."

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed any suggestions that his country could launch an attack on a NATO member, saying such speculation is "sheer nonsense."

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