Polish foreign minister denounces Russian aggression: ‘Don’t you have enough land?’

Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski gives a speech at the Parliament in Warsaw on April 23, 2025. (Czarek Sokolowski / AP Photo)

WARSAW — Poland’s foreign minister on Wednesday used an annual address to Parliament to send a sharp message to Russian leaders as war continues in neighbouring Ukraine, asking: “Don’t you have enough land?”

Foreign Minster Radek Sikorski described the difficult situation Poland faces with the war across the border and the threat of its expansion, and voiced concerns about the “disintegration” of western unity.

Poland, on NATO’s eastern flank, is one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters, and Sikorski used his speech to strongly criticize Russia.

He said, addressing Russian leaders: “Don’t you have enough land? Eleven time zones and still not enough? Take care of better governing what is within your borders according to international law.”

Sikorski described the deteriorating security situation with a war next to Poland’s border: “Anxiety, and the question of what will happen, have settled in Polish homes. Are we also at risk of Russian aggression? Are the relations between Europe and the United States heading towards a crisis? Can Europe quickly improve its defence capabilities?”

Poland and European allies are trying to strengthen their defences, fearing that Russian aggression won’t stop in Ukraine, while the Trump administration signals that Europe must take up more security responsibilities.

Though he did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump by name, Sikorski’s address appeared to include implicit criticism of concessions Trump has been willing to make to Russia to bring an end to the war.

Since taking office again, Trump has falsely claimed Ukraine “should have never started the war,” said Ukraine “may be Russian some day” and questioned the legitimacy of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government. Trump also upended the longstanding American position of isolating Russia over its aggression by beginning direct talks with Moscow and voicing positions sounding remarkably like the Kremlin’s own.

“For Poland, the greatest threat would be the disintegration of the Western community. That is why we cannot afford illusions or inaction. We cannot afford to be alone,” Sikorski said.

He had a warning for Russia. “You will never rule here again, neither in Kyiv, nor in Vilnius, nor in Riga, nor in Tallinn, nor in Chisinau,” he said, listing the capitals of Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova.

He also noted that the situation on the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine is “ambiguous,” and that Russian forces’ slow progress is paid for “with huge losses.”

“After three years of this stage of the war, which Putin planned for three days, Russian troops control only about 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory and are still stuck in eastern Ukraine,” Sikorski said.

“It is estimated that the war has already cost Russia at least US$200 billion, and almost a million Russian soldiers have been eliminated from the battlefield. Ukrainian losses are smaller, and they have not allowed either the capture of their capital or the installation of a puppet government.”