French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested extending France’s so-called nuclear umbrella over its European allies, amid fears an aggressive Russia could one day turn its sights from Ukraine, which it invaded in 2014 and again in 2022, to the European Union’s eastern flank.
With around 300 nuclear warheads, France is the only EU member country to possess such weapons, and one of three NATO members along with the U.S. and the U.K.
Poland and Denmark have previously expressed openness to the idea of sheltering under France’s nuclear protection. In March, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk — who comes from a rival party to Duda — said Poland was “talking seriously” with France about the possibility, which has gained traction after warnings from the U.S. that Donald Trump’s White House may not provide security guarantees to Europe in the future.
Warsaw has dramatically upscaled its conventional military in recent years in the face of Russian aggression, with its fighting force of 200,000 now the largest in the EU — and it hopes to build an army half a million strong in the coming years.
