„We will have the strongest ground troops among the European NATO countries,”

— says Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak in an interview with the weekly „Sieci”, which will appear in the forthcoming Monday issue of the weekly.

Here we present an excerpt from this conversation:

Once this armament, which we have already bought or which is being negotiated, arrives in our country and is deployed, will we then be able to defend ourselves against an attack such as the one Ukraine is experiencing?

Poland’s military needs to be so numerous and so strong that its very existence should deter an aggressor. The Kremlin’s rulers will not strike at the strong; they attack when they see weakness. Whether in terms of artillery or armoured troops, there will ultimately be no stronger state in Europe. Among European NATO countries, we will have the strongest ground troops. We are on the front line, we are on the border with Russia both in the north and actually, in military terms, from Belarus.

However, Russia’s aggression could be point-blank, such as hitting key points in our economy with missiles, which would make our situation by leaps and bounds worse. Do we have a response to such a scenario?

As soon as this year, the first of the Patriot anti-aircraft launchers ordered in 2018 will arrive, and there will also be a battery identical to the UK’s Sky Sabre short-range system. Finally, we have our Thunderbolts, which have proven themselves in Ukraine. It will be a multi-layered shield, the construction of which is already well advanced.

In the interview, Deputy Prime Minister Blaszczak also talks about, among other things, the behind-the-scenes talks with Germany on tanks to help us plug the gap left by the equipment sent to Ukraine, as well as the latest arms purchases in South Korea.

Tłum. K.J.