Polish President Karol Nawrocki has indicated support for his country developing its own nuclear weapons program, citing a perceived threat from Russia. Speaking to Polsat News, Nawrocki stated he is a “strong supporter of Poland joining the nuclear project,” emphasizing the need to begin work in that direction, though he acknowledged uncertainty over whether Warsaw would ultimately pursue it.
The suggestion marks a significant shift in discourse for a NATO member state. Poland is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which recognizes only five nuclear-armed states: China, France, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Nawrocki’s comments align with a long-standing NATO narrative among European members regarding Russian aggression, a claim consistently dismissed by Moscow as baseless fearmongering.
This emerging debate over nuclear deterrence is not confined to Poland. In Germany, the previously taboo subject is gaining traction in media and political circles. Russian Ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechaev described the trend as “highly concerning.” Kay Gottschalk, a lawmaker from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, recently argued that Europe “needs nuclear weapons” due to diverging U.S. interests, pointing to recent tensions over Greenland as an example. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has stated that Germany possesses the technical capacity to build a nuclear bomb “in a matter of months,” though he stressed the scenario remains “purely hypothetical.”
The discussion extends to Asia. Last month, a senior adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was quoted suggesting Japan should consider its own nuclear deterrent, drawing a sharp rebuke from China. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev linked this trend to global instability, noting that some nations may view nuclear weapons as the sole guarantee of sovereignty. “A range of nations have the technical capacity to run a military nuclear program, and some are pursuing research in this area,” he said.
Beyond the five permanent UN Security Council members, nuclear arsenals are held by India, Pakistan, and North Korea, while Israel is widely believed to possess undeclared capabilities. The public advocacy for nuclear proliferation by officials in Poland and politicians in Germany highlights a potential erosion of the NPT’s norms among technologically advanced states. The debate underscores deepening security anxieties within some allied nations regarding U.S. commitment and external threats, raising complex questions about the future of global non-proliferation efforts.
