Putin Ally Draws Red Line for 'Legitimate Targets' in NATO Country

A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Thursday that U.S. nuclear weapons facilities in Poland would be among the first "legitimate targets" by Russia's military should NATO provoke a direct military confrontation.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing on Thursday, days after Poland expressed openness to holding NATO allies' nuclear weapons on its territory, that such action could be viewed as a red line, escalating the conflict between Russia and Ukraine into a more global affair.

"The Polish authorities have made no secret of their ambitions in terms of how to 'cuddle up to' the U.S nuclear weapons deployed in Europe, they have been talking about this for a long time," Zakharova said, according to Russian news agency Tass.

"They are still commenting on this, linking it to their hostile policy towards Russia. The impression is that Warsaw is maniacally seeking to attract even more attention from military planners in the Russian General Staff."

She continued: "As you can assume, in the event U.S. nuclear weapons appear on Polish soil, the relevant facilities will immediately be added to the list of legitimate targets to be hit in the scenario of a direct military confrontation with NATO."

Newsweek reached out to NATO, the Russian Defense Ministry, and the Pentagon via email for comment.

"The Ministry of National Defense does not comment on the statements of Russian politicians," a Polish Defense Ministry spokesperson told Newsweek. "These types of statements are also part of psychological activities aimed at intimidating public opinion."

The spokesperson said the NATO "nuclear sharing" program is pivotal to maintaining the credibility of the Alliance's nuclear deterrence and to advancing a more united and cohesive NATO in general.

"It is a constant element of our stance on the nuclear policy of the Alliance to support actions and initiatives aimed at the strengthening of credibility and effectiveness of Allied nuclear deterrence, including existing mechanisms and procedures of state participation in the Alliance's nuclear policy," they said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda told Polish outlet Fakt, as part of an interview published on Monday, that his country and the U.S. have been in discussion about hosting nuclear weapons for "some time." Other European nations currently host U.S. nukes on their soil.

"If our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons as part of nuclear sharing also on our territory to strengthen the security of NATO's eastern flank, we are ready for it," said Duda.

On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Warsaw.

Stoltenberg praised Poland for increasing its defense spending to approximately 4 percent of GDP, according to a transcript of the visit. But no mention was made regarding nuclear weapons in Poland.

The Pentagon earlier this week referred Newsweek to the Polish government regarding the apparent behind-the-scenes discussions between both entities.

"In the context of a worsening security situation, especially threats posed by the Russian Federation, including in the nuclear sphere, NATO nuclear deterrence is an important factor in ensuring the security of Poland and the entire Alliance," the Polish Defense Ministry told Newsweek in a statement, adding that Poland takes "active part" in continuous consultations between allies.

U.S. tactical nuclear weapons are hosted at six bases across five NATO member countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The U.S. no longer hosts nuclear weapons in the U.K. or France, which have their own nuclear arms.

Zakharova's comments echo what Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, warning that U.S. nuclear weapons in Poland could cause Russia to "take all the necessary retaliatory steps to guarantee our security," according to Russian state-owned media agency RIA Novosti.

Russian consternation about U.S. nukes in Poland comes a few short weeks after Putin announced that one of its staunchest allies, Belarus, would host nuclear weapons.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Mark Cancian, a senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Newsweek that he expects Putin to continue on his current military path—described as a "stalemate" in which Russia controls the frontlines while Ukrainian forces are striking almost everywhere else.

"I think [Putin] believes that he's winning, and his strategy for at least a year has been to outlast the West," Cancian said. "From his point of view, Western aid to Ukraine is teetering and eventually will stop or at least dry up, and that will give him an opening for a battlefield advantage."

Due to no side really gaining traction militarily, Cancian said Putin has emboldened his position to potentially negotiate a more favorable outcome for himself if ultimately desired.

Nikolai Sokov, senior fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, told Newsweek that no urgency exists for NATO posture. A direct confrontation between both entities remains "unlikely."

"The Russian army has developed new tactics, has adjusted to modern warfare with peer adversary faster and better than NATO, but it is definitely weaker than NATO and will need years to restore its fighting ability after the current war ends," Sokov said. "That is, NATO has time and as long as it maintains prudent policy of not entering a direct war with Russia, it has time to develop plans and implement them.

"The latter seems rather uncertain—I'd even say that the probability of NATO (or, rather, individual countries) getting into a direct fight with Russia is noticeably greater than the probability of Russia getting into direct fight with NATO."

Update 04/25/24, 11:52 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from the Polish Defense Ministry.