Poland to deploy new military division on Russian border
A new armed forces division is to be created in eastern Poland, as announced by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak on Thursday, during the annual meeting between the defense department and the army command.
According to him, in order to strengthen Poland’s eastern flank, there are plans to partially “relocate forces from the west to the east”. “I plan to create a new division of the professional army in the east,” Błaszczak emphasized. He also noted that Poland hopes to increase the number of NATO forces in the republic.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said in a presidential address that “the unpredictability of Russian politics” is the primary challenge for Polish security, and that “Russia has been demonstrating that it is prepared to resort to military force in order to achieve its goals, deliberately violating international law”.
“It is dangerous for us, Russia’s neighbors, and the entire international community,” the Polish leader said. He added that this forces Poland to take action.
The division will be the largest military formation in the Polish Armed Forces during peacetime. Currently the Polish army has one tank division and two mechanized divisions under the infantry’s command. The other types of armed forces do not have this organized level.