Poland’s most senior military officer has issued a stark warning that a surge in cyberattacks and suspected acts of sabotage suggests Russia may be laying the groundwork for future aggression against NATO.
General Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff, told Polish Radio that the pattern of incidents targeting Poland’s infrastructure forms part of a wider “pre-war” phase, a period in which an adversary quietly prepares the conditions for escalation. He said these actions are designed to destabilise Poland and weaken the country’s deterrence posture, describing them as “a certain environment” being deliberately engineered to shift the strategic balance.
His comments come as concern mounts in Warsaw following explosions and damage to tracks on a major railway line linking Warsaw and Lublin, a critical route used to deliver aid to Ukraine. Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned the incident as an “unprecedented act of sabotage”, warning that the consequences could have been significantly more severe.
Kukuła’s warning echoes recent remarks from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has urged Western nations to adopt wartime-level procurement reforms, citing a growing sense of “mounting urgency” in the global security landscape. The Polish general said comparisons to 1939 or 1981 were “apt”, adding that the ultimate outcome depends heavily on whether Poland and its NATO partners invest sufficiently in deterrence.
Asked whether Poland is now closer to a pre-war moment or a Cold War-style standoff, Kukuła offered a sobering perspective: states are “always in the pre-war period”. Stability, he argued, depends on how effectively this phase is managed. He insisted that strong resistance, robust defence spending and a united front from NATO are vital to dissuade Russia from escalating further.
Regarding the railway incident itself, Kukuła said it bears the hallmarks of hybrid warfare but urged caution until the Interior Ministry publishes its full assessment. Nonetheless, he stressed that recent events should not be viewed as isolated criminal acts, but as part of a broader threat environment facing Poland and its allies.
