Poland requests NATO nuclear weapon placement amid Russia’s nuclear threats

Poland officially requests deployment of NATO nuclear weapons on its soil as part of Nuclear Sharing program, citing need to bolster deterrence against Russia after Moscow stationed tactical nukes in Belarus.

May 1, 2024 - 07:15

Poland requests NATO nuclear weapon placement amid Russia’s nuclear threats

nuclear bomb

Warsaw has officially requested the deployment of nuclear weapons from the North Atlantic Alliance on its territory, according to Polskie Radio.

Nuclear Sharing is a NATO program that is part of the Alliance’s nuclear deterrence policy. It provides nuclear warheads to member states that do not have their own nuclear weapons. The United States controls the use of these weapons. Since November 2009, under Nuclear Sharing, American nuclear weapons have been located in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Türkiye.

Due to Russia deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Poland is interested in participating in NATO’s Nuclear Sharing program, which is part of nuclear deterrence.

Deputy Minister of National Defense of Poland, Pawel Zalewski, said “We are all supporters of strengthening Poland’s security in every possible way, this issue on the one hand should be the subject of an agreement within NATO, and on the other hand, it should be the subject of an internal agreement.”

A representative of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that President Andrzej Duda’s comments about the deployment of allied nuclear weapons in Poland were somewhat “hasty,” and the government should have been consulted first.

President Duda said in an interview with the Fakt publication, published a week ago, that “if our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons under Nuclear Sharing, also on our territory, to strengthen the security of NATO’s eastern flank, we are ‘ready’ for this.”

“The government should have been consulted first, instead of just going out and saying: we want to have nuclear weapons on our territory,” said Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Andrzej Szejna.

At the same time, he assured that everyone was ready to deploy nuclear weapons in Poland. “If our allies state that such missiles should be in Poland, Poland should say ‘yes’, but such a situation has not occurred yet,” said the Deputy Foreign Minister.

President Duda also mentioned Nuclear Sharing, saying that “the program should also be extended to the countries of NATO’s eastern flank.”

“As a representative of one of these countries, I raise this issue, while assuring readiness to participate in this program,” he said.

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