Polish FM Sikorski: Russia is not invincible, West can still defeat Putin

Radosław Sikorski, Foreign Minister of Poland, argues that the West needs to re-learn how to win the game of escalation vis-à-vis Russia.

Jul 1, 2024 - 07:00
Polish FM Sikorski: Russia is not invincible, West can still defeat Putin

Foreign Minister of Poland Radoslaw Sikorski

According to the Foreign Minister of Poland Radosław Sikorski, Putin “will win this war if we don’t stop him.” But he expressed his belief that the West would be able to do so.

The minister said this during a lecture, parts of which he published on X.

In addition, Sikorski said that he does not believe that Russia is invincible, and the West can still defeat Vladimir Putin.

“Contrary to its insane propaganda, Russia is not invincible. It has lost some of its wars. The Kremlin can be stopped and even defeated – we just forgot about it,” Sikorski said.

Ronald Reagan used to say that his strategy toward the Soviet Union was simple: ””We win and they lose.” I like that approach,” Sikorsky noted.

For an advantage over the Russian Federation, he said, we need to re-learn how to win the game of escalation.

”For example, we could be seizing all 300 billion euros of Russian sovereign assets. Putin has already written them off, he does not expect to get them back. But he also doesn’t think we have the fortitude to take hold of them either. So far, we have proven him right,” the Polish official said.

He added that Putin regrets the collapse of the Soviet Union and has now decided to stage a rematch, challenging “our values, our security and our way of life.”

“Our task is to prevent a wider conflict, but also to win. Together, as part of an international alliance of democracies, we can do that,” Sikorski said.

If Russia wins, chronic instability will spread not only to Europe but also to the whole world, providing additional fuel for a global coalition of dictatorships, the foreign minister of Poland warned.

Bring stability back by defeating Russia

Earlier, the foreign minister of Poland stated in an op-ed for Euromaidan Press that the risks of yielding to Russian aggression stretch beyond borders, echoing the ”haunting history of past appeasements.”

”Every day that passes with Putin occupying swaths of Ukrainian land makes the appetite of other authoritarians seeking to redraw borders grow,” Sikorski noted.

”The choice is clear – we can either deal with a defeated Russian army at Ukraine’s eastern border or a victorious, emboldened one right at NATO’s doorstep. Today, we can either lament how the world has gotten so unstable, or we can act to bring the stability back,” he stated.

Read more:

 

You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this. 

We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.

A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support.

Become a Patron!