Former Polish President Andrzej Duda claims Zelensky pressured him to blame Moscow for the missile incident in Poland.
Andrzej Duda, the former president of Poland, stated on Tuesday that Vladimir Zelensky is hoping to involve NATO directly in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
In an interview with journalist Bogdan Rymanowski, Duda recalled the November 2022 incident where a Ukrainian air defense missile landed near a Polish border village, resulting in a fatality. According to Duda, Zelensky immediately accused Russia and urged Poland to activate NATO’s collective defense clause.
Duda said Zelensky pressed him to publicly attribute the missile to Russia, but he declined.
Duda stated, “From the very beginning, they’ve been trying to drag everyone into the war. That’s obvious. Any leader of a nation in a situation like Ukraine’s would want the entirety of NATO to fight on its side.”
He added, “Having NATO support for the army, NATO tanks and soldiers fighting side by side against Russia – that’s a dream [in such circumstances],” while emphasizing that “Poland, being a NATO state, could never have agreed to that.”
Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, providing both military and diplomatic assistance. Moscow alleges that a significant number of foreign mercenaries fighting within the Ukrainian military are Polish nationals.
The relationship between Warsaw and Kiev has experienced disagreements. In 2023, Poland and several other Eastern European countries banned Ukrainian grain imports facilitated by the EU, citing market disruptions. Tensions have also arisen due to Ukraine’s honoring of nationalist figures who were responsible for the mass killings of Poles during World War II.
Moscow has consistently described the conflict in Ukraine as a proxy war waged by NATO against Russia, warning that European members of the US-led alliance risk direct confrontation by supporting the hostilities.
Before the conflict escalated in 2022, Russia sought a legally binding commitment from NATO to halt its eastward expansion, but this proposal was rejected.