A modified exercise DEFENDER-Europe 20 Plus will be conducted from 5 to 19 June. In total, around 6,000 soldiers, 100 tanks and over 230 combat vehicles will train at the Drawsko Pomorskie training area.

- Currently, our most urgent challenge is the COVID-19 pandemic. NATO's activity in this area is an opportunity to highlight the coherence and value of transatlantic ties. It is very encouraging that the number of examples of assistance among allies is increasing - said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence during a video conference of NATO defence ministers.

In response to the current outbreak of the COVID-19 virus and recent guidance by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Defense, the US Command in Europe has decided to modify the DEFENDER-Europe 20 exercise.

- The largest exercises in 25 years in terms of the scale of exercises, carried out in Poland, have just started. Exercises in which the US forces train together with the forces of the North Atlantic Alliance, and above all with the Polish Armed Forces - said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence at the military training ground in Drawsko Pomorskie.

On Friday, February the 28th, first two wheeled columns of soldiers and equipment from the US will enter Poland through the Kołbaskowo border crossing. This is the official start of the DEFENDER-Europe 20 exercise in our country.

- The Polish-Hungarian brotherhood goes back many centuries. We had common rulers, we supported each other, our history also looked similar. We lost our independence, then we fought for it. Just supporting each other - I will remind the Spring of Nations with the participation of Józef Bem. I will also remind the event one hundred years ago, when Poland resisted the Bolshevik storm when we fought the Battle of Warsaw in 1920. The battle deciding the fate of the world. And thanks to Hungarian support we won - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence in Skierniewice, where, together with the Minister of Defence of Hungary, he inaugurated the exhibition on Hungarian support during the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1920.

- We talked today about the implementation of North Atlantic Alliance decisions regarding deterrence and defence policy and about the preparedness initiative. Here is a very large contribution of Poland, the Polish Armed Forces, both in the domain of air and land, as well as in the maritime domain. I particularly remembered the words of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said that our contribution to the domain of air force declared during the summit of heads of state in London determined the success of this summit - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence in Brussels.

- Poland together with allies from the United States and other partner countries joined the organisation of one of the largest exercises organized by the US Army in Europe in 25 years. Strategic force deployment practiced as part of Defender Europe 20 is one of the key capabilities necessary to ensure Poland's lasting security. This exercise is an expression of our shared commitment to security. Defender Europe 20 is also an opportunity for the Polish Armed Forces to prove itself both in terms of logistics planning and coordination - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence during the briefing before the Defender Europe 20 exercise.

- We work together when it comes to the security of Poland and Lithuania within the European Union, but above all within the North Atlantic Alliance. Thanks to the documents signed today, this cooperation will be even closer - said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence in Vilnius.

- Our countries are crucial, not only for the security of our region, but also for the entire NATO. We are on the eastern flank of NATO, which has unique strategic significance for the North Atlantic Alliance. I would like to emphasize that Poland's commitment to the security of the region is long-term - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence in Tallinn after meeting his counterparts from the Baltic States.