EditSikorski: Europe could defeat Russia quickly in a war
The Polish foreign minister left out that Russia has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and would resort to nuclear weapons if it risked losing a conventional war
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has said NATO could defeat Russia “quite quickly” in the event of a Russian attack, arguing that the alliance has overwhelming superiority in air power and could impose a heavy cost on Moscow.
“If Russia attacked us and we took our gloves off, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly. We have overwhelming superiority over Russia in air power. General, correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s something like 2,500 aircraft,” Sikorski said during a discussion at the annual Yalta European Strategy meeting in Kyiv.
“Even without the U.S. it’s still overwhelming, and I haven’t checked recently how many F-35s and JASSMs and all the deep-strike capabilities we have,” he added.
Sikorski also compared Europe’s potential ability to target Russia’s energy infrastructure with Ukraine’s ongoing campaign against Russian oil refineries. “If the Ukrainians have knocked out half of Russia’s refining capacity in six months, we could do it in six weeks and take out the other half,” he said.
The Polish foreign minister urged Europe to convince Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin that any aggression against European countries would come at an “incredibly costly” price.
He noted that the combined defence budgets of the Baltic and Nordic countries already exceed Russia’s, while acknowledging that Europe still lacks full defence sovereignty.
Sikorski’s remarks drew a sharp response from Moscow. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused him of “Russophobia of the brain” and claimed that the Polish minister had said Poland could defeat Russia quickly. He was referring to a potential conflict between Russia and NATO, rather than a one-on-one war between Poland and Russia.
Poland itself operates roughly 75-80 combat aircraft, including F-16s, FA-50s, remaining MiG-29s and its first F-35s. Russia, by comparison, operates roughly over 300 combat aircraft. Sikorski’s estimate of around 2,500 aircraft referred to NATO’s combined air power. He also stressed that the alliance would retain a significant advantage over Russia even without the United States.
His comments came as Poland heightened its security posture following Russian strikes on Ukraine near the Polish border, including a 13 September attack on a passenger train at Yahodyn railway station, just kilometres from Poland.
During the Kyiv conference, Sikorski also called on NATO to step up military exercises around Kaliningrad, arguing that this could force Russia to divert troops from Ukraine to defend the exclave.
Border agression
Poland has increasingly hardened its diplomatic stance towards Moscow after a series of aggressive Russian actions near its border. On 13 September, a day after Sikorski’s comments, Russian drone struck a passenger train near Yahodyn railway station, just around two kilometres from the Polish border.
Russian drone hits Kyiv–Warsaw train two kilometres from Poland
The train was travelling on the Kyiv-Warsaw route, and the attack came shortly after a diplomatic train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and other European officials had passed along the same track on their way back from the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv.
Ukrainian Railways said the diplomatic train may have been a potential target.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the strike was intended to intimidate and divide European countries, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said such attacks would not deter continued support for Ukraine.
The Polish government has warned of a risk of further escalation as Russian strikes have increasingly affected areas around key border crossings linking Ukraine with Poland.
In another strike on 13 September, a Russian drone hit a truck near the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing, temporarily disrupting operations at the crossing. Moscow said the target was infrastructure used to transport Western military aid.
Sources: Ukrainian pravda, Kyiv post, Reuters, BGNES
Caption: Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski (L) and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (R) hold a joint press conference at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, 13 September 2026. Sikorski arrived in Kyiv on 11 September to meet top Ukrainian officials, and extended his visit through the weekend. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
Updated: September 15, 2026 - 06:07
