Poland

Warsaw, October 1, 2026. Polish media are treating the Russian warning as nuclear blackmail aimed at the Alliance, and are receiving it all the more directly since the Kaliningrad Oblast borders Poland and Lithuania. Dziennik.pl reports that the text was published on X by the Russian embassy in Brussels: "Rosja jest gotowa użyć całego swojego arsenału," Moscow writes, if NATO states attempt to isolate the region from the rest of the country. The daily recalls that this territory, which was German before World War II, was taken over by the Soviet Union in 1945.

RMF24, which headlines with "nuclear blackmail," relies on Reuters to detail the document, classified as a "non-paper": Moscow accuses the Alliance of a "kurs niebezpieczny i lekkomyślny" and mentions possible Russian strikes on decision-making centers from the start of a conflict. The text explicitly cites nuclear weapons. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov considers it "całkowicie naturalne" that diplomats remind the "gorących głowach" of Europe of Russian political documents. According to RMF24, Russian embassies in at least three European countries have, in three days, accused NATO of escalation through exercises and scenarios targeting Kaliningrad, while ensuring that Moscow has no intention of attacking.

The Alliance's response occupies most of the coverage. According to Dziennik.pl, citing AFP, spokeswoman Allison Hart "condemns firmly the threats of using force, including any irresponsible nuclear rhetoric," confirms receipt of the document, and indicates that a response has been sent. She adds that resorting to hybrid tactics is a sign of desperation that will not prevent support for Ukraine.

On Wednesday, September 30, in Brussels, Mark Rutte ruled out the scenario of using nuclear weapons against the Baltic states, according to Gazeta Prawna and Dziennik.pl. If Russia were to target Finland, a Baltic country, or Poland, "zaobserwujemy koncentrację sił," he said; Vladimir Putin knows he cannot defeat NATO. The Secretary General attributes these pressures to Moscow's difficult situation in Ukraine: "On chce nas podzielić." He cited Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who believes that any hybrid threat against Poland calls for more aid to Kiev, and judged this reaction "właściwa."

The Polish press thus links the threat to the enclave to the war in Ukraine and the unity of the eastern flank, without going into detail about the issue of transit to Kaliningrad.