Poland Prepares for War with Russia
Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said Warsaw no longer divides scenarios into realistic and unrealistic, but only into probable and less probable.
Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said Warsaw no longer divides scenarios into realistic and unrealistic, but only into probable and less probable.
Poland is actively preparing for the possibility of a large-scale war with Russia, while simultaneously warning that Moscow could carry out a major provocation in the coming months. This was stated by Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk on Monday, August 17, 2026, as reported by Polsat News.
Tomczyk emphasized that the Polish government and military no longer treat a conflict with Russia as an unthinkable scenario. Warsaw is actively planning how the country would function under the most difficult possible conditions, although officials hope these preparations will never have to be put into practice.
"We are preparing for war, hoping it never begins," Tomczyk said.
Poland's preparations are not limited to the armed forces. As the deputy minister stated, Poland is also increasing the resilience of its energy system and key facilities, with the aim of defending against a potential future attack.
Tomczyk specifically highlighted the SAN anti-drone system, being developed under Poland's "Eastern Shield" program, describing it as "a massive, state-of-the-art anti-drone system, the most advanced in Europe."
"Eighty percent of this system's capabilities are being built for wartime conditions, while only a small portion will be usable in peacetime. We are not building an army for a press conference. We are building it with the awareness that it must be ready to defend the state under extremely adverse conditions, and that we must have the appropriate resources for that," Tomczyk said.
This warning comes amid reports that Russia has established at least 10 new or modernized drone facilities near the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. These facilities include launch positions that could, in the future, bring NATO territory, including Poland and its capital Warsaw, within range of Russia's most advanced long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.
Although Poland is preparing for the worst-case scenario, Polish officials believe a direct war is not necessarily the most immediate danger. Tomczyk warned that Russia could carry out a large-scale provocation in the coming months, but did not specify what form such an operation might take.
"We no longer divide scenarios into realistic and unrealistic, but only into probable and less probable. Today, I would not set any deadline. Even a major Kremlin provocation could occur in the coming months," Tomczyk said.
This warning comes amid growing anxiety among NATO members about how quickly Russia could rebuild its military strength after the conflict with Ukraine. Tomczyk referred to the assessment of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Aleksus Grinkevičius, according to which Russia could, by 2027, rebuild enough military power to pose a significantly greater threat to Europe.
According to Tomczyk, much will depend on the outcome of the war in Ukraine.
"If this war ends, that would, of course, be very good, but then there is a high probability that Russia will begin rebuilding its capabilities for the next armed conflict," he stated.
For Warsaw, support for Ukraine is therefore directly linked to Poland's own security. Tomczyk believes that Russia is currently not ready for a direct conflict with NATO and would lose such a war, pointing to Ukraine's ability to hold back Russian forces despite the enormous imbalance in resources.
"Putin's Russia today is not ready for a conflict with NATO and would lose such a war. Especially since we see that Ukraine has stopped Russia, let alone what the full potential of the Alliance could do. We must be aware of our own strength. We must use it, sort out our own affairs, support Ukraine, and keep Russia as far away from us as possible," Tomczyk concluded.
