U.S. Ambassador: we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Poles

"I’m here, at campus, to share a message that the American people see special capacity in the Polish people – the capacity of reactive mobilization. What that is, is the ability to react fast and comprehensively to a crisis. And not every country can do it. In some examples of crisis management the reaction is delayed. Not in Poland," U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said in an interview for TVN24 reporter Radomir Wit.

He added that "after February 24^th, this nation came together, and especially young people went to the border". "Especially young people drove Ukrainian families to a destination, whether in Gdynia or in Poznań, or in Kraków or Wrocław, wherever – to give them shelter over their heads. That is a special capacity that is an asset of Poland, like innovation is an asset of Poland, just like economic endurance and durability is an asset of Poland," said the ambassador.

He said that his nation had shown the same kind of capacity in the past. "... the race for the moon, when the country came together and supported the technological revolution to put a man on the moon. Our country came together again after Pearl Harbor. Poland has come together in 2022 to reactively mobilise for the Ukrainian refugees. We American see it and it’s beautiful," Brzezinski said.

He also praised U.S. President Joe Biden for being "so effective and so savvy in maintaining alliance unity". "Because you know that every country with whom we have relations we have shared interest, (and) we have differing interest. And so it’s a process of balancing sometimes, and the president has maintained the unity of purpose and a shared definition of the challenge among very different countries, as it pertains to Ukraine," he said.

"And this crisis may endure - I hope it ends tomorrow - but it may endure and that alliance unity is so critical. Poland has been - of course as a frontline country – a centrally important part of that alliance."

U.S. ambassador also that one of the main challenges lying ahead of NATO was to predict what Russia's President Vladimir Putin would do next. "We have a pathological person in charge of the military invasion on a sovereign nation and we’ve seen a video like it was from WWII. So the hardest part is just trying to address what is this person going to do next."

"But I want to tell as the chief of mission in Poland – the chief of the U.S. mission in Poland – we are ready, Radomir, for any contingency. Our troops here are deployed all across the country, all on Polish bases and it’s not an accident. We are ready for any eventuality and we hope nothing happens – Polska jest bezpieczna, Polska jest zabezpieczona (Poland is safe, Poland is secure - edit.) – because we are ready, and shoulder to shoulder with the Poles" - Brzezinski assured.

"Putin is a KGB agent who is a son of a KGB agent and who has committed genocide in Ukraine. I don’t see him sitting at any table of democratic, respected leaders ever. War crimes have been committed that have to be answered for. Things that we are just beginning to investigate will be chastened down – no terrible deed will go forgotten and unpunished. But we have to work together to win this war and end this crisis. That’s first and foremost what we are doing together with our special friends – the Poles," American ambassador underscored.