Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Koszyniak-Kamiś said that Poland will spend 200 billion zlotys (46.8 billion euros) on defense next year amid the growing threat from Russia, Polish news agency PAP reported, quoted by BTA.
Koszyniak-Kamiś took part in the Warsaw Security Forum - a two-day international conference dedicated to European and global security, which brought together politicians, military and security experts from 80 countries.
In his address to the event, he referred to the incidents on the night of September 9-10 and the following days, when Russian drones invaded Polish airspace, and then Russian fighter jets briefly violated Estonian airspace, saying that effective protection against drones is crucial in the face of the growing threat from Russia.
He spoke of the need to increase the air defense capabilities of Poland and NATO's eastern flank, including a so-called anti-drone wall along the eastern border of the EU and NATO, co-financed by the EU.
“The recent violations of Polish, Romanian and Estonian airspace are clear evidence that Russia is testing our borders,“ said Koszyniak-Kamiś.
“The Kremlin's aggressive policy poses a real and direct threat to European security, and we know that Russia's goals are not limited to Ukraine,“ he added.
Poland's response is a continued increase in defense spending, Koszyniak-Kamiś said, citing a draft budget for next year that allocates 200 billion zlotys for this purpose, representing 4.8% of GDP, the largest military budget in NATO by this indicator.
He added that about 187 billion zlotys (43.8 billion euros), or 4.7% of GDP, had been planned for defense in 2025, although it remained unclear whether this target would be achieved by the end of the year, the Polish defense minister explained.