Poland’s leadership sees a growing risk of Russian provocations along NATO’s eastern flank, the nation’s spy chief said.
“We are seeing developments in Ukraine and that the war is not going well for Russia at the moment. This is a cause for concern that Moscow could further escalate the situation,” Colonel Paweł Szota, head of Poland’s foreign intelligence service, told the newspaper Rzeczpospolita in comments published over the weekend.
He said a limited attack on the Baltic states could take the form of so-called “little green men” – a reference to Russian soldiers without insignia who seized control of the Ukrainian Crimea peninsula in 2014.
“Russia is systematically crossing red lines to test NATO’s response,” Szota said. “The costs of such provocations are low, while the alliance responds mainly with political measures, which invites further escalation.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski also warned last week of possible Russian false-flag operations. “We need to communicate to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we know what he’s up to and that we will not be taken in and that this would be completely unacceptable, and we would defend every inch of NATO territory,” he told US broadcaster CBS.
Putin and other officials in Moscow have repeatedly said Russia has no intention of attacking NATO territory. However, intelligence and military agencies in several NATO countries share concerns about possible escalation, although they differ in terms of timing and scale.
FILE PHOTO – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) flag can be seen during the official celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO. (is associated with: «Poland warns of risk of Russian incursions on NATO’s eastern flank») Beata Zawrzel/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa