'Every crazy dictator in the world is watching': Warsaw mayor on implications of Ukraine war

President Biden said to speak there in just a few moments from now at the Royal Castle here in Warsaw, Poland. It's the same place he gave that impassioned plea last year, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. For free people refused to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. We will have a different future, a brighter future, rooted in democracy and principle. The open light of decency and dignity of freedom and possibilities. Joining us now is the Mayor of Warsaw, Ref Al Czeskowski.

What a moment you've been living through. You are the Mayor of Warsaw. You've now had a presidential visit from the U.S. twice in less than a year. He didn't go to Berlin, he didn't go to London, he didn't go to Paris. What does it mean to you that he's here in Warsaw to give this speech? Well, it's incredible.

Of course, the times are very difficult. But it's very important that the President of the United States is in Poland again, because it means that we are safe, you know, because with him he brings those guarantees of security. And of course, it is immensely important for us that he was in Kiev, that he showed so much courage and that the United States of America is ready to help. And we heard from President Putin this morning giving that lengthy speech. Overall, it seemed to signal that he doesn't believe this war in Ukraine is anywhere close to being over. What was your takeaway? Well, unfortunately, it seems that Putin wants to escalate, that he doesn't have a plan B. He miscalculated on so many different fronts.

He thought that Ukrainians will not defend their country. He thought that we could be divided. And he just was wrong on both of those counts. And one thing has been about what the West is sending to Ukraine. That was a major theme of his speech today. One point has been the F-16s. And the U.

S. is saying they're not going to train Ukrainian fighter pilots on the F-16s yet. Do you think that's a mistake? Do you think they should do so in case they decide to send them? Well, it's complicated. But the most important thing is that every taboo has been broken because I remember these conversations a year ago and many people were saying we shouldn't be sending heavy weapons. We shouldn't be sending tanks. And then it turned out that America and other European allies decided to actually help Ukraine because Ukrainians are fighting for our security. So we need to help them as much as we can.

And when you say our security, this war is on your doorstep. What does that feel like? Well, I mean, Poland is safe. I mean, you see war. So just behind me, nothing changes. Of course, now today, everything's blocked because of the presidential visit. But the life goes on. And thanks to President Biden and the American administration, we feel safe.

Thanks to ourselves as well. But thanks to the Ukrainians who are fighting for the stability of the Transatlantic Alliance. We're fighting for our values. I mean, you know, we talk about democracy, the rule of law all the time. These guys are actually given their lives for those values. And what you seem to be saying is that instead of debating over sending certain weaponry, longer range missiles, planes to Ukraine, they should just go ahead and send it. We should be helping Ukraine as much as we can.

And of course, the Americans are doing it. Poles are doing it. But many of our friends in Western Europe were dragging their feet. So we better keep the pressure up because we need to be helping those guys. And of course, we're here in war, so we are helping the refugees. We are helping women and children. And that's why many Ukrainians, I've talked to them, you know, on numerous occasions, tell us we can fight because you're doing doing your bids.

So you are informing we're helping refugees. Other people are sending weapons because we all have a dog in this fight because every dictator, every crazy dictator in the world is watching whether the West can be united, whether we can be strong and whether we can deliver. We're a year into this war and Poland saw the most refugees out of anyone. A lot of them came through Poland, went to other places, but many still live here, over a million in Poland. Hundreds of thousands still live in your city. What is the impact of that a year in? Well, it has been really amazing, this show of solidarity, because you know, you don't see any people on the street. You don't see any camps for refugees because they're with us, with friends, with family and so on and so forth.

And I'm absolutely certain that we will get enriched by all of that. There is a silver lining on that cloud because Warsaw was one of the most diverse cities in between the wars. And of course, after the Second War, it was changed. Now we welcome these Ukrainians here for a while, maybe for longer, and we feel enriched. And one thing we've seen Polish President Duda call for other officials here in Poland is a bigger American presence here, a more permanent presence here. Are there indications you think that that's actually going to happen? Well, we hope so. I mean, there is American presence on the ground.

And of course, President Biden said that every inch of NATO territory will be defended. And it, first of all, makes us feel more secure, but also sends a very strong signal to the Russians that they shouldn't move any further and that, by the way, they should start moving out of Ukraine because the West will be together, will be strong, next batch of sanctions are being prepared. So that's exactly the signal that we should be sending. And those are the words that I'm waiting for that President Biden will deliver in a few hours. And how long do you think it could go on for? It's very, very difficult to say. But that's why we need to help the Ukrainians because they're bleeding every day. And as I've said, you know, this is also our war.

Some people think this is a war somewhere in the East and so on and so forth. But this is a war for our values, for the stability of our institutions, for our community. And as I've said, you know, everyone is watching whether we can deliver, whether we can be strong, because people thought the West will keep on deliberating and so on and so forth. Now we showed that we can do it together and we should simply continue doing it. Mayor Czeskowski, thank you so much for joining us here. Thank you for hosting us in your city. Pleasure.

We really appreciate your time. We really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you. We've now been to Warsaw twice in a year now. An interesting perspective from a city that has really felt the impact of this invasion.

Ukraine, Poland, Russia, World News, Warsaw, Kaitlan Collins, CNN, Politics, Putin