KALININGRAD, April 23. /TASS/. Polish President Andrzej Duda's claims about Russia's alleged deployment of nuclear weapons in the Kaliningrad Region were an attempt to distract the people's attention from domestic problems, Alexander Shenderyuk-Zhidkov, a senator from the Kaliningrad Region, has told TASS.

"The way I see it, Duda’s latest statement was an attempt to divert attention from Poland’s standing domestic problems, society’s split into two rival political factions and the seething distrust across party lines," Shenderyuk-Zhidkov said.

The senator noted that hatred of all things Russian remained central to Polish politics.

"In this particular case, the Polish president is just trying to score political points. It seems to me that this is just some kind of political gimmick, expected to once again shift the attention of the Polish public to some kind of external threat," he added.

Shenderyuk-Zhidkov emphasized that Russia would decide for itself what was required to ensure the safety of its citizens.

"I think that Russia will deploy nuclear weapons where it considers necessary, based on the interests of its people, first of all their security, and national interests. It is unlikely to listen to the opinion of Poland’s Russophobic-minded president," he concluded.

The day before, Duda said in an interview with the Fakt newspaper that the Polish authorities had repeatedly discussed with the United States the possibility of deploying its nuclear weapons in Poland under NATO’s Nuclear Sharing program and expressed readiness to do just that, if necessary.

Duda argues that the potential deployment of nuclear warheads by NATO countries in Poland would be a step to deter Russia, which he says is pursuing an aggressive and hostile policy toward Warsaw and has allegedly deployed missiles with nuclear warheads in the Kaliningrad Region.