If you want peace, prepare for war: Poland has figured out how to repel Putin's vile antics/Office of the President of Ukraine

The Republic of Poland is strengthening its security at an insane pace. And this is not surprising. After all, large-scale hostilities unfolded near its border, which Europe had not witnessed since the Second World War. Read more in the exclusive blog for Channel 24 website.

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The Poles are well aware of what it means to be victims of the aggressive actions of foreign peoples, since they themselves have repeatedly suffered from various kinds of invasions and occupations. Therefore, the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is perceived very sharply by the Polish society and forced Warsaw to accelerate the strengthening of the Polish army, as evidenced by the recent purchases.

Poland understood everything a long time ago

However, the right decisions were adopted in Poland long before the start of the Great War. The main impetus for this was the occupation of Crimea by Russia and the conflict in Donbas orchestrated by Moscow.

So, back in 2016, the Poles began to make purchases of advanced types of weapons, including Patriot air defense systems, F-35 aircraft, HIMARS MLRS, Abrams tanks, etc. Thanks to this, the waiting time for military equipment is coming to an end and deliveries should take place in the near future, because of which, according to Deputy Defense Minister Marcin Ociepy, Poland is in a “much better position than countries that have just begun to arm themselves.”

However, according to the Deputy Minister, although the Poles may feel safe today, it is possible that Russia may attack in the future. And he even pointed out a situation in which such an attack could occur.

Russia will attack us only when it feels weak, when it feels that not everyone will stand up for collective defense. Russia will strike if the Western enthusiasm to build its own defense potential fades, if the Western European elite falls into deception again, Ochepa explained.

This is also noted by the head of the defense department, Mariusz Blaszczak, who in a recent interview said that the Polish Army should be so numerous and strong that its very existence would frighten off the aggressor, because the Kremlin attack only when they see weakness. And he stressed that among the European countries of NATO, Poland will have the strongest ground forces.

Poland decided not to hesitate and prepare for possible Russian aggression/Photo Office of the President of Ukraine

Poland relies only on its own forces

Indeed, despite the fact that Poland is one of the Alliance member countries, it primarily relies on its own defense capabilities.

That is why this year official Warsaw signed an agreement to buy 250 Abrams tanks of the most modern version from the USA, as well as a contract to buy 116 used, but still very effective Abrams on preferential terms. After all, the combat value of the Abrams is at least two or even three times higher than that of the T-72 tanks.

Moreover, on July 27, Minister Blaschak approved three framework agreements with companies from the Republic of Korea. They involve the purchase of K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 Thunder howitzers and FA-50 aircraft, along with spare parts packages, soldier training and related equipment.

Each contract is divided into two stages: first, there will be a relatively quick delivery of a smaller batch of weapons in the configuration in which they are currently being produced; then – much more orders, combined with design changes in accordance with Polish requirements.

It should be noted that the Ministry of National Defense of Poland has not said a word about how much the state will spend on South Korean weapons. However, the media is talking about an astronomical amount of 14 billion dollars.

Thus, the distant South Korea, a country with which Poland has so far had a minimum of military cooperation, becomes in this context one of the most important partners of Warsaw and jumps to second place in the list of arms suppliers, second only to the United States.

Indeed, the agreement with Seoul against the background of the Ringtausch – the crisis along the Warsaw-Berlin line, when Poland openly accused Germany of failing to fulfill its obligations, and the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak said that the proposal of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was to replace Soviet tanks with modern vehicles German-made – was “just a propaganda operation” (quite an important topic that deserves separate attention) – looks like a good enough alternative.

As you can see, this requires huge financial resources. However, the Polish government provided for this by developing a separate estimate.

Thus, the Ministry of National Defense agreed with the Ministry of Finance the Fund for the Support of the Armed Forces – a financial plan for 2022 and 2023, which should amount to about PLN 20 billion this year and about PLN 49 billion next year. The Fund is one of the elements of the law “On the Defense of the Fatherland”, the main goals of which are to increase the defense budget, increase the number of the Polish Army, restore the reserve system and increase the training of soldiers.

However, despite such optimism, there is much more to be done. And this is not only about expanding the army and its further rearmament, but also about working on the resilience of all citizens.

We must work on the resilience of society and institutions to cyber attacks, foreign agents or disinformation,” said Marcin Očepa, Deputy Minister of Defense of Poland.

Poland has long understood that anything can be expected from Putin/Photo by Getty Images

The senior official also stressed how important it is for the security of Poland to deploy the permanent command of the 5th Corps of the US Army in Poznan . Indeed, according to him, the arrival of American officers and generals should not only get to know Poland and its realities better, but also become a guarantee of the security of this country.

“This firmly involves the Americans in our region. They will not be able to afford to leave an attack on the country where their commanders are stationed unanswered,” Ocepa shared his thoughts.

Actually, on July 30, a ceremony was held in Poznan command of the US 5th Corps with the characteristic name “Camp Kościuszko” (General Tadeusz Kosciuszko – a common hero-fighter for the independence of Poland and America), which was attended by the Minister of National Defense Blaszczak and US representatives. In addition, they emphasized that the task of the Polish military leadership is to strengthen relations by building interoperability between the armed forces of both countries.

Thus, it can be stated that the Republic of Poland is preparing quite carefully for various scenarios, clearly adhering to the ancient Roman principle laid down in Latin catchphrase: “Si vis pacem, para bellum” – “If you want peace, prepare for war.” In the context of the Kremlin's extremely aggressive policy, this is perhaps the best way to make a military attack from its northeastern neighbor impossible.