President Karol Nawrocki delivered a pointed rebuke of Russia to American conservatives on Saturday, rejecting Moscow's attempts to position itself as a defender of traditional values while the Kremlin wages war on Ukraine.
"Russia does not defend conservatism," Nawrocki told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas during a 20-minute address. "Russia represents corruption and violence."
The speech represents a significant diplomatic maneuver by Poland, attempting to maintain American conservative support for Ukrainian defense and NATO security commitments at a moment when some Republican voices have grown sympathetic to Russian narratives about protecting Western civilization from liberal excess. Nawrocki characterized the Russian regime as one that "invades its neighbors" and "destroys cities," arguing it falsely claims to defend traditional values.
In Poland, as across Central Europe, history is never far from the surface—and neither is the memory of occupation. Nawrocki's speech at CPAC comes as Warsaw watches nervously as elements of the American right flirt with pro-Kremlin talking points, threatening the transatlantic consensus that has underpinned Polish security since the fall of communism.
The Polish president contrasted Russia's approach with what he called "true conservatism," which he said "respects nations, human dignity and freedom under law." It was a careful threading of the needle—affirming shared values with American conservatives while drawing a bright line between principled conservatism and authoritarian nationalism.
Nawrocki emphasized the US-Poland alliance as "written in blood," referencing centuries of joint defense efforts from the American Revolution through World Wars I and II to post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and . He noted that 66 Polish soldiers died in Middle Eastern operations alongside American forces—a reminder that Poland has consistently supported US military efforts even as other European allies wavered.
