- February 26, 2026
- 1:15 pm
- World News
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski presented a strategic note on the tasks of Polish foreign policy for the current year to the Sejm’s Foreign Affairs Committee. The document turned out to be significantly broader than a usual diplomatic report and effectively became a political warning about the state of security in Europe.
In Warsaw’s assessments, what was perceived as a hypothetical scenario a few years ago is now voiced — the risk of a major military conflict on the European continent is no longer considered an abstract threat.
Europe faces a new security reality
Warnings of war and the rise of sabotage
According to Sikorski, direct warnings about a possible war are increasingly being heard in various European countries. This concerns not only military preparations but also events that are already happening now.
The minister notes the rise of sabotage, subversion, and hybrid operations across the continent. These actions, according to Polish diplomacy, indicate a gradual transition of Europe into a state of long-term confrontation, where the line between peace and conflict becomes less and less obvious.
Particular attention in the document is paid to the cost of possible Russian aggression against NATO’s eastern flank. According to calculations, the defense of the region’s countries could cost at least 1.2 trillion euros — an amount comparable to almost six years of Poland’s functioning.
Such assessments show the scale of the problem: it is no longer about a local threat but about a systemic restructuring of all European security.
Why the outcome of the war in Ukraine is critical for Europe
Sikorski emphasizes separately: Ukraine’s defeat would not reduce the threat from Russia, but on the contrary, would increase it.
In his opinion, the Russian leadership, despite its own propaganda statements, has not achieved a strategic victory and simultaneously has finally missed the chance for modernization and democratic development of the country.
This conclusion is shared today by many European governments, which consider the war in Ukraine as a factor directly determining the future stability of the entire region — from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
That is why discussions about supporting Kyiv are increasingly seen not as external aid but as an investment in Europe’s own security. Analytical conclusions of this kind are regularly noted by the editorial team of NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, highlighting the strengthening connection between the Ukrainian front and NATO’s strategy in the eastern direction.
The world is changing: the return of power politics
The end of the previous international order
Warsaw, in its assessment, speaks of a deeper transformation of the world system. According to the Polish minister, international relations are increasingly moving away from rules based on agreements and institutions and returning to the logic of power.
Sikorski warns of attempts to restore the principle of the so-called ‘concert of great powers’ — a model in which the fates of regions are determined by a few strong states without considering the interests of smaller countries.
In such a system, the document notes, real alliances lose significance, as military power and economic pressure become the key factors.
Europe has paid the price for years of underestimating threats
Many experts acknowledge: such warnings were sounded in Europe long before the current crisis. Eastern European states, including Poland and the Baltic countries, have been talking for years about the need to increase defense spending and strengthen their own security.
However, at that time, these assessments were often perceived as overly alarming.
Today the situation has changed. European countries have to rapidly increase defense budgets, modernize armies, and revise strategic priorities already in the conditions of a real crisis, not long-term planning.
In fact, Europe has found itself needing to catch up with its own warnings — and to do so much faster and more expensively than if preparations had started earlier.
The political note from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows the main point: the issue of security is no longer a theoretical discussion. For European capitals, it has finally turned into a practical task for the coming years.
