At UN, Poland's Sikorski Tells Russia It 'Cannot Win' Ukraine War

Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski used his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to accuse Russia of escalating its war in Ukraine, saying Moscow was deliberately striking civilians and critical infrastructure.

Speaking on Wednesday, Sikorski said Russia had been unable to advance on the front line and was instead targeting Ukrainian civilians — including passengers on trains, street vendors and cyclists — as well as power plants, factories and shopping malls.

He argued that the escalation reflected panic in Russia's leadership, saying President Vladimir Putin had achieved nothing after more than four years of what he called a senseless colonial war. According to Sikorski, Moscow is running short of troops and resources and is seeking a pretext to mobilise.

The Polish minister said the war had killed and wounded 1.5 million Russians, and warned that millions of Ukrainians and other Europeans were increasingly at risk. He suggested Putin might at any moment try to provoke a NATO country and widen the conflict.

Directing his remarks at Russia's representatives, Sikorski said Moscow had spent more than twelve years trying to conquer the Donbas and more than four years attempting to take Kyiv, and had been stopped by Ukraine, a country with one-tenth of Russia's GDP. He contrasted Russia's economic weight with that of Poland, Europe and NATO, saying the alliance's combined GDP was many times larger.

"You can still kill a lot of people, but you cannot win," he said, urging Moscow to halt what he described as an imperial war of choice and to stop endangering Europe and the world. Addressing Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by name, he said: "Tell your boss. Enough is enough."