Poland Changes Its Defence Concept Based on Russia's War against Ukraine

Poland has made its conclusion following Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and his deputy Wojciech Skurkiewicz talked about this in an interview with Polish outlets.

In a conversation with i.pl, Błaszczak told about a new division in the Polish army, which will strengthen the defence east of the Vistula. "The main threat for Poland is Russia and its imperial ambitions. This is why we need more forces in the east, which is why the new division is being formed," the defence minister said.

According to him, searching for a deployment site, they paid attention to its ability to deter the enemy and maneuver. "Demographic, communication, and social aspects" were also important. They want to place the new division between the other two on the eastern borders.

"We will focus on the defence of every meter of our land. We are moving away from the doctrine that operated for years during the current opposition. We believed then that we could start our defence along Vitsula and we would withdraw from the eastern borders without a fight. This can lead to such tragedies as we saw in Ukraine in Bucha... We have to be strong, in fact, very strong in the eastern part of the country because this is the main frontline of our security and independence. We know who is a threat to us. Our goal will be to effectively restrain the enemy, if necessary - to take the fight to the east of our country, on our borders," said Mariusz Błaszczak.

He added that in the current realities, one should forget about Poland's need for a small professional army and that it makes sense to withdraw to Vistula for defence.

Mariusz Błaszczak also mentioned assistance for Ukraine. He says that Poland deliberately contributes a lot because the worse losses Russia suffers in Ukraine now, the safer Poland and other countries of the democratic world will be. "We must remember this and be with Ukraine until the end," the minister underlined.

Błaszczak's deputy, Wojciech Skurkiewicz, repeated his boss in an interview with "Polish Radio."

"We have changed all kinds of accusations which made sense during the times of our predecessors. They said that we would give up the eastern part of the country, establish a line of defenсe on Vistula, and then push the aggressor to the east. Absolutely not. What happened in Ukraine: Bucha, Hostomel, Kherson have shown that you cannot give even one centimeter of Polish land. It will affect the civilian population," he said.