Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, was in Miami on Tuesday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where the two diplomats presided over an event honoring Cuban dissident Berta Soler, highlighting the strong diplomatic ties between the two nations.
Rubio used the occasion to commend Poland for its proactive role in supporting democratic movements in Cuba, stating that he had requested a “favor” from Warsaw which was “instantly and immediately” acted upon. The pair also held a pull-aside meeting to discuss transatlantic unity, Ukraine, and other challenges.
The timing of Sikorski’s appearance with Rubio is particularly notable, occurring just ahead of the Polish President’s visit to the White House with a delegation that will not include any government representatives.
While in Miami, Minister Sikorski sat down with the Kyiv Post’s Alex Raufoglu to discuss Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics, Poland’s role in supporting Ukraine, and a unified message ahead of President Nawrocki’s White House visit.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Kyiv Post: You have consistently called out Russia for its engagement in hybrid warfare tactics. In light of that, let’s start with your reaction to the latest reports about the jamming of the European Commission President’s plane.
Minister Radosław Sikorski: I haven’t yet had a full technical briefing about what actually happened. So I’d like to know whether it was general jamming of the GPS signal in the area, or whether it was a cyberattack on the airfield and its capacity to guide planes – because these would be different things. But yes, we’ve had Russian jamming of the GPS signal in Ukraine, but also in Poland from across the border of the Russian exclave in Kaliningrad, also in the Baltic states, and also in Finland. It’s just one of the hostile acts that Russia conducts under its hybrid war against Ukraine and Europe.
Remember, hybrid war is not just being a nuisance on the internet; it’s everything below the threshold of kinetic war, and it includes GPS jamming, but it also includes arson. It includes assassinations, it includes espionage and disinformation. We’ve taken tough action in response to Russian arson in Poland. I have already closed down two of Russia’s three consulates in Poland, and we have restricted the movements of Russian diplomats only to the area around the capital, so as to make it more difficult for spies among Russia’s diplomatic personnel to conduct their operations to harm Poles and Europeans.
Kyiv Post: And would you encourage fellow European countries also to follow suit? This is serious, isn’t it?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: This is the consensus of our security services. I could think that about 40% of Russian diplomats are conducting activities incompatible with their status, and we should make it harder for them to do so.
Kyiv Post: The European Council’s President recently spoke about a potential post-war troop deployment in Ukraine, which triggered some debate among the members. What is Poland’s position on this topic?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: Poland is in the forefront of helping Ukraine. We gave Ukraine more tanks than the rest of Europe put together. We’ve given them MiG-29s and we will give some more. And 95% of the assistance to Ukraine goes through Polish territory. We need to secure those supply lines, those aerial hubs, from interference – not only from Russia, but also from Belarus. And this is where Poland sees its value added.
Kyiv Post: The Kremlin says that European powers are hindering President Trump’s effort for peace...
Minister Radosław Sikorski: Well, this is absurd. It’s Russia that’s invaded Ukraine, and it’s Russia which is refusing what President Trump has proposed and what Ukraine has agreed to, which is a ceasefire in order to enable negotiations.
Kyiv Post: Let me ask you the reverse version of this question, because, as we speak, Russia is launching daytime attacks on Kyiv, which is something new. Is Putin swinging President Trump along to buy more time?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: Putin is mocking President Trump’s peace efforts. They were discussing in Alaska a three-way meeting, or a two-way meeting, and instead of a ceasefire and a meeting, we have the biggest attacks on [Ukrainian] cities since the beginning of the war. I’m amazed that President Trump has patience with this guy.
Kyiv Post: As you know, the conventional wisdom in Washington DC has been that the current US administration is engaging in “a reverse Kissinger” to discourage Russia from aligning with other superpowers. Is that strategy working?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: I think the pictures just in the last 48 hours from the meeting of the Shanghai Security Organization have unfortunately put a stick in that idea. Also, remember, Kissinger—and Nixon in China—was preceded by years of patient diplomacy, some of which was actually conducted, believe it or not, in communist Poland.
Kyiv Post: Let’s talk about Poland’s position on Ukraine. As we’re doing this interview in Miami, Poland’s President is poised to visit President Trump in Washington on Wednesday and you will not be a part of his trip. Daniel Fried, former US ambassador in Poland, told us that, despite parallel Polish delegations that are currently visiting the US, he believes that when it comes to Ukraine, your messages are unified. Is his assessment accurate?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: On defense, on the need to resist Putin, and on the need to help Ukraine with this war – yes, we have a national consensus.
Kyiv Post: What do you expect from the US in terms of defending transatlantic security, Ukraine, and beyond?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: I hope the US concludes its posture review with the decision to maintain a military presence in Europe, in particular, to maintain it where the threat is—which is on the Eastern flank. And I hope that the US imposes tougher sanctions on Russia and enables Ukraine to hit Russian military targets. The campaign in the Black Sea has been a success, and the campaign to target Russia’s oil refineries, which are of course enabling the Russian army to operate in Ukraine, has been quite successful, and we should reinforce that success.
Kyiv Post: And is this the message that both you and your president—who will be at the White House tomorrow—are trying to convey to the US?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: Indeed.
Kyiv Post: Final question: How would you characterize President Nawrocki’s recent vetoes, particularly concerning aid to Ukrainian refugees?
Minister Radosław Sikorski: Our new president is aligned with the MAGA movement. But in Poland, we have the majority in favor of child benefit—which is what we’re talking about—being paid to those refugees, not only Ukrainian ones, who are actually in employment. You can criticize them or not, but that’s the feeling.