Putin is a tyrant who wants to enslave Ukraine, Poland's president says

Poland's President Andrzej Duda has slammed his Russian counterpart, saying Vladimir Putin is behaving similar a colonialist.

"Vladimir Putin wants to enslave Ukraine, helium wants to grow his authorities crossed the Ukrainian territory, [to] instrumentality distant Ukrainians' freedom. Why? Because Ukrainians decided they privation to beryllium portion of the assemblage of escaped nations. They privation to beryllium portion of the European Union, they privation to beryllium portion of NATO," Duda told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick successful Davos, Switzerland connected Tuesday.

Duda, 1 of Putin's fiercest critics and Ukraine's astir vocal allies, said Russia's penetration of Ukraine past February was spurred connected by Kyiv and different erstwhile Soviet republics moving distant "from the aged Soviet sphere of power towards free, antiauthoritarian countries."

He said the "free world" — a Cold War word referring to Western democracies — had to inquire itself, "do we let countries to beryllium enslaved by tyrants similar Putin who contradict each antiauthoritarian rules, who privation to present terror, who effort to enslave others and instrumentality vantage of their ain imaginable for their ain benefit? Or bash we deliberation that the escaped satellite tin advancement and each state has the close to aforesaid determine?"

"If that's what we judge in, we person to support Ukraine," helium said.

Modern-day Russia and Poland stock a turbulent history. Poland was invaded by the Soviet Union successful 1939 and remained heavy influenced by Soviets until 1989 — erstwhile a bid of revolutions successful eastbound Europe ended Communist regularisation and helped spur connected the dissolution of the Soviet Union successful 1991.

Group subordinate Poland plays an instrumental relation successful the NATO subject alliance, efficaciously marking the eastbound frontier of NATO territory with Ukraine and Belarus. It has not been immune to the effects of the Ukraine war, arsenic millions of Ukrainian refugees crossed successful to question section refuge oregon caput into Europe beyond. In November, a stray rocket landed connected Polish territory, sidesplitting 2 citizens.

The warfare successful Ukraine has prompted wide concerns among countries that utilized to beryllium wrong Russia's sphere of power — peculiarly Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — that Putin aspires to recreate a Russian empire.

Duda said Poland "was afloat alert of the information that these imperial, assemblage aims are resurfacing," adding that Warsaw rejected immoderate conception of coming nether "Russkiy mir" — a word that means "Russian world" and refers to Russia's taste power and the conception of "Russianess."

"Russia is fundamentally behaving similar a assemblage country. It wants to colonize others, instrumentality distant their freedoms, exploit their resources. It wants to foodstuff different people's potential, their economical potential, their earthy resources. Today, that's what's happening successful Ukraine. It would beryllium the aforesaid for different countries," the Polish president said.

Duda described Russia arsenic wanting to widen its sphere of power for centuries. "Poland was partitioned for 123 years. Parts of Poland were nether Tsarist rule, truthful we're perfectly alert what is happening. So that's wherefore we're defending ourselves. If idiosyncratic says 'Russkiy mir' — 'Russian world' oregon 'Russian peace' — we accidental perfectly no! Anything but Russia, thing but the Russian sphere of influence."

CNBC has reached retired to the Russian overseas ministry for comment.