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Some of the American nuclear weapons located in European countries should be redeployed to Poland, which seeks to participate in the NATO nuclear distribution mission, according to the author of the analytical material published by the American Heritage Foundation, Robert Peters.

Placing such weapons in Western Europe made sense during the Cold War, Peters writes, but now involving Poland in this mission would adapt the alliance’s nuclear strategy to current threats.

With NATO’s eastward expansion following the collapse of the Soviet Union, allied fighter jets carrying nuclear bombs will have to fly further to reach enemy targets, experts say. “If at such distances a fighter-bomber has to refuel in the air before reaching the target, both the fighter-bomber and the refueler may be vulnerable to the enemy’s long-range air defenses,” the material says.

As previously reported by Voice of America, on June 30, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki Morawiecki made a statement that Warsaw is intensifying its appeal to NATO about the country’s readiness to participate in the Nuclear Sharing nuclear deterrence program.

“We declare our desire to act quickly on this matter,” said Morawiecki. The prime minister also added that he was waiting for Washington’s consent, since “this is first of all the decision of the Americans” and emphasized the reluctance of the Poles to “sit idly until Putin is intensifying various threats.”

Responding to questions from the press about this statement, the coordinator of strategic communications of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said: “The deployment of nuclear systems is not a matter of public discussion, so the US does not comment on Poland’s desire to place nuclear weapons on its territory.” Kirby assured that the US is following the nuclear security situation very closely.

As the Voice of America reported, US President Joe Biden sharply criticized Russia’s placement of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, calling this step “absolutely irresponsible”. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that nuclear weapons would be stationed in Belarus “indefinitely”.

Some experts fear that any such changes to the NATO nuclear deal would increase tensions with Russia, which would see nuclear weapons in Poland as an escalation. Peters is convinced that against the background of Russia’s nuclear weapons and its decision to place parts of its nuclear arsenal in Belarus, such a move by NATO would be justified:

This “would reassure Russia’s closest NATO allies that the arsenal remains reliable and effective. It is better to counter Russian aggression by strengthening nuclear deterrence.”

Speaking at the Carpathian Economic Forum in Poland earlier this week, Polish Chief of Staff Raimund Andrzejczak called for a tougher approach to Russia.

“Looks like we’re dealing with gangsters, crazy bad guys. Everyone’s gone to the park and they’re smoking cigars, the gangsters are putting their guns on the table, and we’re in flowery T-shirts saying, “Well, I’ve got a gun, but I left it at home.” NATO is a nuclear treaty organization; it should be much more active and stronger towards the Russians,” The Guardian quoted the general as saying.

NATO’s nuclear mission includes US tactical bombs that allied fighter jets can deliver should the conflict escalate into a nuclear one. Tactical weapons have less explosive power than strategic nuclear weapons, which are delivered by long-range bombers, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched missiles. In theory, tactical nuclear weapons could be used for a more limited strike, resulting in less fallout than their strategic counterparts.

The US does not publicly discuss where its tactical bombs are stored in Europe. In 2019, a NATO-related body published and subsequently deleted a document that contained information that US nuclear weapons in Europe were allegedly stored in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey.