GDAŃSK — Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radek Sikorski said in late June 2026, "I wouldn't exclude the Russians doing some kind of false flag operation against Russian territory in order to have a pretext for hitting one of the NATO countries." Sikorski made the remarks during a public address in Gdańsk.

"We need to communicate to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we know what he's up to and that we will not be taken in and that this would be completely unacceptable, and that we would defend every inch of NATO territory," Sikorski said.

Sikorski assessed the conflict, stating, "Ukraine has certainly won in the Black Sea." He added, "Russia certainly doesn't have air domination over Ukraine. It can send missiles and drones, but it cannot fly freely over Ukraine." Regarding the ground war, Sikorski said, "The ground war is stuck, and Ukraine seems to have gained fire control over a strategic highway from Donbas to Crimea." He noted, "Wars are never linear. They go through phases. It looks like the phase of Russia having the initiative has ended."

Addressing regional tensions, Sikorski said neighboring countries must move past disputes to focus on their common enemy in Moscow. "It's not about people falling into each other's arms," Sikorski said. "It's about deciding not to repeat the bad stuff and to find a better common future. And in that spirit that I hope we'll be able to handle the relationship with Ukraine. We shouldn't allow Putin to take advantage of our disagreements." Relations between Poland and Ukraine have frayed recently over a Ukrainian decision to rename a military unit in honor of a World War II-era Ukrainian militia. The militia is remembered in Kyiv for fighting off the Soviet Union and in Poland for the ethnic cleansing of Polish civilians in the Volhynia massacre of 1943.

Sikorski expressed his view on negotiations: "I'm personally of the view that it's better to allow Russia and Ukraine to negotiate directly." He noted they already negotiate on specific issues: "They negotiate over exchanges of bodies of fallen soldiers, of POWs. And there are issues that we don't want to be pressing them to do." On the broader alignment, Sikorski said, "We Europeans are not neutral between the two sides. We are on the side of the victim of aggression. And Russia is the aggressor." He added, "The United States also helps, not as much as in the past, but it's also helping Ukraine." Regarding a potential settlement, Sikorski said, "We think that if Putin is ready for a ceasefire, which has been offered by Ukraine, or for a peace deal, he will find Zelensky's number."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters this week that Moscow was "ready to talk with Kyiv, as we have always been." The last time Russian and Ukrainian representatives met face to face was in February in the United Arab Emirates during trilateral summits mediated by the United States. Ukrainian forces have retaken more than 230 square miles of territory this year, according to Ukraine's top general. In Crimea, occupied by Russia since 2014, authorities cut off gas sales to civilians last week following attacks on energy infrastructure. An estimated 90% of foreign military supplies for Kyiv travel across the Poland-Ukraine border.

On June 25, 2026, U.S. and Polish soldiers led a Transfer of Authority Ceremony at a Polish military base in Boleslawiec, Poland. The U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division concluded its deployment and the 1st Infantry Division began a nine-month tour across Eastern Europe.