Putin Ally Pushes Russia Toward War With Poland

A member of the Russian parliament and a top member of President Vladimir Putin's political party, United Russia, has suggested that Russia look to Poland after Ukraine in its quest for "denazification."

Oleg Morozov's comments, which were posted to Telegram, echoed Putin's self-described goal of working to "denazify" Ukraine.

Poland should be "in first place in the queue for denazification after Ukraine," Morozov said in the post, according to an English translation.

It was not immediately clear why Morozov reportedly believes that Poland is in need of "denazification," but the comments could further strain tensions between Russia and Europe amid the war in Ukraine. Poland is one of 30 NATO member nations, meaning that any potential Russian attempts to target the country could trigger a massive war with the military alliance.

Newsweek reached out to Morozov via the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, for comment on these remarks.

Putin has not given any definitive indication on whether he may take aim at Poland in the future, but Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski said during an interview with Al Jazeera published in late March that it is an "absolute certainty" that Putin would like to attack Poland.

"At the same time, we're also quite certain that [Putin] will not do it now because he's too much occupied with what's happening in Ukraine," Jablonski added.

This is not the first time Morozov has taken aim at NATO in his rhetoric.

Last month, after Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger confirmed that Slovakia had donated an S-300 air defense system to Ukraine, Morozov said during an appearance on Russia's First Channel that "we have to make the collective West understand that they have no chance of winning this war."

Slovakia is a NATO country and one of several member nations that have provided Ukraine with weapons and supplies since the start of the war in late February.

"I am certain that in the very near future, we will see special operations, both from our air forces and from our special units, in order to destroy weapons shipments from NATO countries," Morozov said.

Morozov also said during the appearance that "a total war has begun."

Russia's physical war has so far not stretched beyond Ukraine's borders, even though the impacts of the conflict have been felt throughout the world. Putin has also refrained from officially declaring war on Ukraine.

Morozov accused the West of wanting the war in Ukraine "to continue for as long as possible."

"They presume that this war will exhaust our military and economic resources," Morozov added.

Newsweek reached out to the foreign ministries of Russia and Poland for comment.