Russia slams Poland's rhetoric, says it might threat Ukraine's territorial integrity

As Poland continues to assist Ukraine in the midst of the war with Russia and Polish politicians criticise Russia for its military aggression in the former Soviet state, the Russian Federation has slammed Poland for its stance. The spokesperson of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov described Poland's lawmakers' statements towards Russia as "openly hostile." He also claimed that Poland might be a threat to Ukraine's territorial integrity because Polish authorities frequently say that a portion of Ukraine's territory is made up of "ancient Polish lands," according to AA News.

Peskov continued by stating that the fact that Poland has been using extremely aggressive rhetoric in recent months is nothing new and that the country hasn't been friendly in a long time, but it has turned antagonistic in recent months. He further said that it is also evident that the threats to Ukraine's territorial integrity may emerge from Poland, recalling that the chief of their foreign intelligence organization recently delivered a statement on this subject which stated that Poland might send troops to western Ukraine.

No more boundaries between Poland and Ukraine: Polish President

This comes as, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, earlier stated that there would be "no more" boundaries between Poland and Ukraine and that the people of the two countries would be allowed to live together, with mutual happiness and power. On the other hand, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that Vladimir Putin is a "war criminal" who is conducting "genocide" in Ukraine, and the European Union must not continue to do business with Russia, according to Euronews. Poland has welcomed around 3 million Ukrainian people, who fled Ukraine after the war started in late February.

In the meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that Russia, Ukraine and Belarus could fight Poland together in the future to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity. However, the spokesperson for the Kremlin declined to comment on Lukashenko's statement.

Tensions in Eastern Europe have been high since Russia launched a war on Ukraine on February 24. UN estimates suggest that at least 3,280 people have been killed and 3,451 more injured in Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began on February 24. However, the true number of casualties is expected to be far greater, according to media reports.

Image: AP