Poland’s military should be large and strong enough for its mere existence to deter “aggressors”, the defense minister says
Poland wants to create the most powerful ground forces among the European members of NATO, the country’s defense minister has said. Mariusz Blaszczak said these remarks during an interview with Sieci magazine. Some excerpts from the interview were published Sunday.
Official said that he sees Russia as a potential enemy and should deter them with a military strong enough to stop them.
“We are on the frontline, we border Russia in the north, and de-facto, in military terms, from the side of Belarus,” Blaszczak said, referring to Poland’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad Region.
Poland’s ambitious military plans would put it in competition with Germany, as earlier this year Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to make the Bundeswehr the “biggest conventional army”There are many NATO member countries.
“The Polish Army must be so numerous and so strong that its very existence will scare the aggressor away. The Kremlin rulers do not hit the strong – when they see weakness, they attack. There will be no European country that is stronger in artillery or tanks. [than Poland],”Minister claimed.
Blaszczak said that to protect itself from high-precision strikes – a capability Moscow has demonstrated during the Ukraine conflict – Poland has ordered US-made Patriot anti-aircraft systems, which are expected to be delivered this year. Warsaw will purchase another unspecified anti-aircraft systems. “identical”According to British Sky Saber the minister did not elaborate.
After transferring over 200 Soviet-era T72 tanks to Ukraine, Poland is trying to rebuild its weapons stockpiles. Blaszczak, who also announced the acquisition of 250 additional tanks, purchased 116 M1 Abrams main combat tanks used from the US.
Warsaw had initially sought to purchase German Leopard 2 tanks to supplement its stock, but that deal fell through. The Polish president Andrzej Da accused Berlin of violating its promises to replace Polish weapons.
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