Poland must prepare for a full-scale conflict, said the head of the country's armed forces, Gen. Veslav Kukula, quoted by Reuters against the backdrop of an increase in the number of troops along the border with Russia and Belarus, quoted by BTA.
„Now we have to prepare our forces for a full-scale conflict, an asymmetrical type of conflict,” said at a press conference Gen. Cuckoo. “This forces us to find a good balance between the border mission and maintaining the intensity of army training”, he added.
Warsaw's relations with Moscow and its ally Minsk deteriorated sharply after the Kremlin sent thousands of troops into Poland's neighboring Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
At the same event, Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda announced that in August the number of soldiers guarding Poland's eastern border will be increased from the current 6,000 to 8,000, with an additional reserve of 9,000 men who will be ready for deployment within 48 hours.
In May, Warsaw revealed details of the “Eastern Shield” (East Shield) worth 10 billion zlotys (2.5 billion dollars), the purpose of which is to strengthen the defense of the country along the border with Belarus and Russia. The program should be fully completed by 2028.
The border between Poland and Belarus has become a hot spot since migrants started flowing there in 2021, brought by travel agencies that Minsk opened in the Middle East. They were offering a new unofficial route to Europe. The European Union pointed out that the purpose of this step by Belarus was to create a crisis in Western countries.
Warsaw has increased its defense spending to over 4% of GDP this year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Kukula also said that the current high interest of applicants to join the army poses the dilemma of accepting more recruits than budgeted at the expense of purchasing military equipment, especially considering that according to him interest is expected to begin to decline sharply after 2027.
At the end of last year, the armed forces numbered around 190,000, including ground, air, naval, special forces and territorial defense forces. Poland plans to increase this number to 300,000 military personnel within a few years.