Poland's Sikorski says he has stockpiled rice and jam, located shelter in case of war
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said in an interview with the Polish newspaper Fakt that he has personally prepared for a possible military conflict by locating a shelter, stocking up on rice and jam, and reviewing a security instruction. He added that only Vladimir Putin knows whether war between Russia and a NATO country is close, and argued NATO must be ready to deter Russia, citing its actions in Georgia and Ukraine.
Key points
- Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told Fakt he has located a shelter near his home and stocks of rice, a hand pump, and fruit jam from his own garden.
- Sikorski said every Polish citizen has received a security instruction and urged people to heed the state's call to be prepared.
- Asked whether a Russia-NATO conflict is imminent, Sikorski replied that only Vladimir Putin knows that.
- Sikorski said NATO is a purely defensive alliance that does not seek conflict but must be ready to deter Russia if Putin repeats what he did in Georgia and is doing in Ukraine.
- Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Lithuania has developed evacuation plans for Russian threats and that Lithuania will not surrender if attacked.
- Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland is ready to help Lithuania with evacuation in the event of a Russian attack.
Why it matters
Poland's foreign minister publicly described personal readiness measures — locating a shelter, stockpiling food — for a potential military conflict, a striking statement from a senior NATO official that signals the Polish government considers a Russia-NATO confrontation plausible. His direct attribution of the decision to Vladimir Putin, combined with coordinated Polish and Lithuanian messaging on evacuation plans and mutual assistance, points to active allied civil preparedness on NATO's eastern flank.
What happened
In an interview with the Polish newspaper Fakt, reported by Yevropeiska Pravda, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said he has personally prepared for a possible military conflict. He described locating the nearest shelter to his home, stocking rice and jam from his own garden, and keeping a hand pump at home. He said every Polish citizen has received a security instruction and urged people to heed the state's call to be prepared, adding that every citizen should know how to apply a bandage, which he said is useful even in peacetime.
On the prospect of a Russia-NATO war, Sikorski said only Vladimir Putin knows whether such a conflict is close. He framed NATO as a purely defensive alliance that does not seek war and will not start one, but argued it must be ready to deter Russia if Putin repeats what he did in Georgia and is doing in Ukraine. Sikorski also noted he had previously warned the Russians that if they attacked NATO, the Alliance would respond with both defense and offensive actions.
Separately, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Lithuania has developed evacuation plans for threats from Russia and that Lithuania will not surrender if attacked. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland is ready to help Lithuania with evacuation in the event of a Russian attack.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian media, led by Yevropeiska Pravda's write-up of the Fakt interview, covered Sikorski's remarks as those of a senior official in a neighbour of Ukraine preparing for the same kind of threat Ukraine has faced. The coverage foregrounded Sikorski's references to Russia's actions against Georgia and Ukraine, using Ukraine as evidence of the threat NATO must prepare to deter.
Background
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has said his country has developed evacuation plans for threats from Russia and that Lithuania would not surrender if attacked. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has said Poland is ready to help Lithuania with evacuation in the event of a Russian attack.