Polish minister: China remains ‘strategic challenge,' West must do more to counter Russia

The Polish minister urged Germany to step up and do more to speak out against Russia and its President Vladimir Putin or risk threats to global security.

People who have fled from Ukraine board a train heading for Warsaw at the station in Przemysl, Poland, Monday, March 7, 2022.  (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) U.S. Soldiers of the 330th Movement Control Battalion stand in formation at Zagan, Poland, April 1, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joseph Aleman) Poland's President Andrzej Duda talks for the media during a news conference with North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski at the presidential office in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Poland’s president on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021 says he has decided to veto a media bill that would have forced U.S. company Discovery to give up controlling share in TVN, a Polish TV network. President Andrzej Duda noted that the bill was unpopular with many Poles and would have dealt a blow to Poland's reputation as a place to do business.  (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski, File) Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news. 

Poland has had a front-line view of the Ukraine invasion, acting as the main point of support from NATO and the largest haven for Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country to escape the war. Around 4,787,154 Ukrainians crossed the border into Poland – roughly half of the 9.8 million refugees that scattered into neighboring countries after the invasion started. 

That prominent role has thrust Poland once more into the spotlight as a key figure in security discussions. NATO debated trying to send Ukraine fighter planes by first placing them in Poland for troops to retrieve, and President Biden, in June, announced plans for the establishment of a new permanent U.S. Army headquarters in Poland, which Przydacz said is "very welcomed" by his country.