Andrzej Duda
© Getty Images / Beata Zawrzel/NurPhotoPolish president Andrzej Duda.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has warned of an imminent war between Russia and NATO if Kiev fails to secure victory in its conflict with Moscow.

In an interview with the Wirtualna Polska news portal on Tuesday, Duda claimed that if Russia were allowed to defeat Ukraine, it would then attack NATO states - a prospect that has been mentioned by Western leaders several times and which Russia has repeatedly denied.

"We cannot allow Russia to win this war... Because if we let Ukraine lose, then a potential war between Russia and the West will be extremely close," Duda claimed, slamming Moscow's operation against Kiev as a manifestation of "Russian imperialism." He also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would want to "attack further and further" if allowed to win against Ukraine.

Duda claimed that NATO is "unanimous" in considering Russia "the greatest and direct threat to the security" of the bloc, and signaled that despite being a "defensive alliance," it is gearing up for a war with Russia.

"There is a determination to show Putin that the West is not afraid... The threat of war exists, because words of condemnation alone will not deter Russia," the Polish leader said, adding that NATO is therefore "arming" itself to "deter" the 'Russian threat' with military might.

Poland has been one of Ukraine's key backers in the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, sending military aid to its army and serving as a hub for weapons provided by other Western nations.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed Western warnings regarding its alleged plans to attack Europe if it secures victory in Ukraine. In April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described such notions as "horror stories," and suggested they had been made up by Western leaders to draw people's attention from problems in their own countries. Vladimir Putin has made similar statements, dismissing talk of a 'Russian threat' as "nonsense" and propaganda by governments aiming to scare Europeans "to extract additional expenses" from them.

Moscow has repeatedly stated throughout the conflict that one of its goals is to ensure Russia's security in light of the threat posed by NATO's expansion toward its borders. It has also stated that the level of support that NATO states extend to Kiev already makes them participants in the conflict, and warned that further steps, such as allowing Kiev to use Western-supplied weapons for striking targets deep inside Russia, could prompt a mirror response from Moscow.