President Duda for "Washington Post": Putin has to be stopped now so U.S. soldiers don't have to shed blood

In a conversation with The Washington Post columnist Mark Thiessen, Poland's President Andrzej Duda was asked, among other things, why the American right wing - part of whom are against supporting Ukraine - should back this country in its fight.

"It is very simple. Right now, Russian imperialism can be stopped cheaply, because American soldiers are not dying," Duda replied. He added, however, that unless the West stops Russian aggression now, "there will be a very high price to be paid".

In his view, Russia's President Vladimir Putin is dreaming of restoring the Russian Empire and that he has to be stopped now "so that it does not come to pass, as it did in World War I and World War II, that American soldiers have to shed their blood and to lose their lives in Europe to restore peace and liberty to the world".

The Polish president was also asked if he was worried about American support for Ukraine should Republicans won the 2024 election. "No. I have no doubt that the United States understands perfectly the threat posed by Russian imperialism," he said.

Asked if Ukraine had enough weapons to change to situation at the frontline, Duda said, that although the Ukrainians had more advanced equipment than Russia, the answer would be "probably not".

"And we know this by the fact that they’re not currently able to carry out a very decisive counteroffensive against the Russian military. To make a long story short, they need more assistance."

Andrzej Duda also spoke about the potential danger of Russia using nuclear weapons. In his view, the Kremlin would not decide on such a move.

"That’s not only because Vladimir Putin won’t use them. I believe that the nuclear arsenal in Russia is under collective control of many people — and that it is not just up to the sole discretion of just Vladimir Putin. So it takes more than one person to decide," he explained.

Speaking about the NATO summit in Vilnius and Ukraine's future in the Alliance, Duda said he hoped that Kyiv would receive more concrete assurances and an invitation. He added, however, he would push the Biden administration to make sure Ukraine gets that invitation at the alliance’s 75th-anniversary summit next year in Washington.

"It isn’t a matter of whether Putin or other Russian leaders will stop wanting to rule Ukraine one day. They may want to rule the whole world. The question is: Will we let them? … I think we mustn’t allow them. We must not tolerate the changing of borders in Europe by force," president Duda said.