In Poland today, many people are asking themselves – considering various experiences from the past – whether the current alliances, the operations within NATO and the European Union, will effectively protect our territory. In other words, will Poland not be attacked – and if it is, will it not be left to fend for itself? Of course, Poland has bitter experiences from World War II, when alliances turned out to be very paper-thin. There were also actions seen after the invasion of the so-called green men in 2014 on Ukraine, when part of the Ukrainian territory was allowed to be governed by the Separatist Republics, loyal to Russia. This caused huge problems for Ukraine.
“Today, the situation is completely different, and we should have faith in our alliances. The joint actions of allied countries indicate that cohesion is very strong,” Maciej Matysiak, expert of the Stratpoints Foundation and lecturer at ANS Gniezno, told eNewsroom.pl. “The United States has clearly and unequivocally stated that Russia has attacked Ukraine and that there is no agreement with such actions. Concrete and swift supporting actions were undertaken – arms supplies, training of the Ukrainian army. Once the conflict occurred, the allied countries clearly and unequivocally focused on helping Ukraine. The dependence on energy was quickly cut off, thus eliminating Russia’s economic blackmail. However, this does not mean that Russia is not trying to break up the alliance. Of course, such attempts are being made – but it even more consolidates this alliance. We see that Russia’s actions have led to the expansion of NATO membership to include Finland, and possibly Sweden. We also see the potential option for Ukraine joining NATO. Therefore, it is confirmed that alliances are effective, they work, they oppose Russia and we have progress in expanding allied activities. This is the only remedy to prevent this aggressive neighbor from achieving their goals,” Matysiak points out.
