Sikorski: Belarusians Are Very Concerned About Being Drawn Into the War
Reform.news Editorial Team · 25 September 2026, 00:18
https://reform.news/en/sikorski-belarusians-are-very-concerned-about-being-drawn-into-the-war/“We are receiving information from many sources that the Russians are preparing something major,” Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Thursday during a discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The minister also spoke about Belarusian concerns over being drawn into the war, PAP correspondent Oskar Górzyński reported.
“We are receiving information… We do not disclose the sources, but there are many of them, that Russia is preparing something major this year,” Sikorski said during a moderated discussion with Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu.
“We also believe that public opinion exists even under dictatorships. I believe that Putin needs a pretext for mobilization, so they could carry out a false-flag operation and tell Russians: ‘We have been attacked, so we must mobilize,’” he added.
Asked about other possible scenarios for “something major,” Sikorski, who met with Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou for the first time on Wednesday, said that “Belarusians are very concerned about the possibility of being drawn into the war.”
“As you know, in Narva, Estonia, the majority of the population is Russian. In some cities in Latvia, Russians also make up the majority. They would like to establish a land corridor from Belarus to the Kaliningrad exclave through Lithuania. We do not know what they will do, but we must prepare to deter them,” the minister said, listing possible scenarios.
At the same time, he noted that Russia would be “insane” to launch a full-scale invasion. He therefore expects something less clear-cut that would also make it more difficult to invoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty on collective defense.
“Russia Believes It Still Has Two Cards Left”
Asked whether Poland could defend itself without U.S. assistance, Sikorski recalled that Poland had fought Russia even before the United States came into existence and would fight again this time.
The deputy prime minister also said that Russia’s current strategy apparently involves trying to cut Ukraine off from Western supplies. According to him, this explains the strikes on border crossings with Poland. He acknowledged that the strikes are causing concern in Poland because Russian missiles do not always hit their targets.
Sikorski noted that despite economic problems and shrinking reserves, Russia could continue the war for another year or two, “unless Ukraine destroys more than half of its oil refining capacity.”
“Russia believes it still has two cards left: mobilization and a harsh winter, as well as the destruction of Ukraine’s power grid, heating systems and major companies. This is already happening and is destroying the Ukrainian economy. However, as President Trump said, Ukrainians also have cards they can play,” he said.
On the issue of establishing a permanent U.S. military base in Poland, the deputy prime minister said that in the future it could accommodate one brigade. Currently, about 7,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Poland on a rotational basis.
“Therefore, we want a U.S. presence that would reassure us but not pose a threat to Russia. And we hope that President Trump will fulfill the promise he made to our president on this issue,” he said.
Sikorski added that about 10,000 troops would be sufficient for this.
Speaking about Europe’s relations with the United States, Sikorski compared them to a marriage in which, although the love is gone, both sides must stay together because it benefits them both.
“We may have affairs on the side, but we are married and must preserve the marriage because we are reasonable people,” he concluded.