Poland will not send troops to Ukraine even as peacekeepers: Defense minister

WARSAW

Poland will not send soldiers to Ukraine in any form, even as peacekeepers, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told parliament Thursday.

Leaders of France and the UK, as well as the foreign minister of Sweden, have said they would consider deploying troops as part of possible peace operations.

Before the parliamentary session, Kosiniak-Kamysz discussed a scenario in which soldiers from European countries could be on the frontlines in an interview with Polish broadcaster TVN24.

“This would be the beginning of an armed conflict… which is why I believe that the countries bordering Russia are not the best ones to be stabilizers on the Ukrainian-Russian border,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also ruled out sending troops to the frontlines, though he is mulling the possibility of deploying them in other ways.

“We perceive our mission in achieving peace – a just peace – differently,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding that Poland should focus on strengthening NATO’s eastern borders.

He added that there are risks of attacks, hybrid warfare or cyberattacks beyond Ukraine.

“The presence of soldiers on the border today is a commitment to strengthening NATO's eastern flank,” he said.

Poland is one of Russia’s most vehement critics and has been a leading voice in often belligerent positions towards Russia since the war intensified three years ago.

However, it has shied away from direct engagement in Ukraine, and since Trump’s recent pivot on support for Kyiv, Poland – a strong US ally – faces uncomfortable choices.