Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told TVP World that Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine today are reminiscent of Leonid Brezhnev's position during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In an interview with the Warsaw press, he accused Moscow of pursuing a neo-imperialist policy, Focus reports.
„Russia is built on an expansionist, neo-imperialist state ideology, which it uses to brainwash soldiers, children and the population. Then it started attacking its neighbors - first Georgia, now Ukraine," Sikorsky said.
He drew a parallel between the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the Soviet offensive in Afghanistan in 1979, which led to a nine-year conflict. "Nobody believed that the Afghan resistance could defeat the powerful Soviet Union. Yet the Soviet Union not only lost the war, but also collapsed as a result."
According to Sikorsky, the difference between the two conflicts is that Ukraine's capabilities are significantly greater. "The difference in power between Ukraine and Russia is much smaller than that between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan. Moreover, our assistance to Ukraine is much more significant than that provided to Afghanistan in the 1980s.“
The Foreign Minister added that the strategy boils down to maintaining the country's industrial capacity and economic sustainability.