TUSK VOWS POLAND WILL NOT SURRENDER TERRITORY TO RUSSIA

Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, said his country will not surrender any territory in a future conflict with Russia. He was responding to President Karol Nawrocki, who wrote online that Poland "may lose territory" but would "never lose our soul." Tusk told Nawrocki to delete the post, saying Poland would not "give up even a scrap" of its territory, then posted a video vowing not to "yield a single inch." He travelled to Kyiv, arriving Friday, to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Tusk told the Polish parliament that Russia is planning hybrid strikes using drones or rockets against European countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland, while presenting the attacks as "accidental" to weaken NATO's response. He said drones or other projectiles could enter the territory of countries on NATO's eastern flank and cause destruction. Tusk has previously called for a no-fly zone along NATO's eastern flank. Poland's deputy defence minister, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, said a potential permanent US army base would be located in western Poland, after President Donald Trump said progress was being made on establishing one.

In Kyiv, Tusk said he would discuss defences against new drone types and further sanctions on Russia with partners including Slovakia. Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said he too would travel to Kyiv, saying Europe was closer than ever to a large-scale war stemming from the conflict in Ukraine. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU would disburse €3.3bn to Ukraine to buy missiles and drones. Tusk said Russia was not ready for peace talks "without the total capitulation of Ukraine." Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said this week that any fight between Russia and Europe would be "very short."