Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak attends a meeting of NATO defense ministers held at the North Atlantic Alliance Headquarters in Brussels on February 14-15.

On Tuesday, the head of the Ministry of Defense took part in a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group chaired by Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, with the participation of representatives from dozens of countries. The donors' conference assessed the current military situation in Ukraine.  It also discussed the scale of support for Ukraine's Armed Forces and further long-term plans in this regard, including the development of training and reconstruction of Ukraine.

"The coalition proved to be vibrant. Just as it was said earlier that the Patriots could not be donated to Ukraine, it was pressure, our pressure, that led to the fact that the Partiots will be transferred. Just as it was said earlier that the Leopards could not go to Ukraine, we can now say that these tanks will go to Ukraine in March. Ukrainian soldiers are already undergoing training in Poland, and will be ready to operate these tanks as early as mid-March. After that, all that will remain is the synchronization of these troops - and such support will be provided. We also discussed other forms of assistance. We know that a big challenge is the issue of spare parts. A major challenge is also ammunition."

- Deputy Prime Minister Blaszczak said after the conclusion of the Contact Group meeting.

The meeting formula was initiated by the U.S. in April 2022 at the U.S. Air Force Base in Ramstein, in response to the Russian Federation's onslaught on Ukraine, and continues in the form of regular meetings.

The Allies have also held an informal meeting with Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who presented information on the security situation in his country. It was also the next opportunity to demonstrate NATO's solidarity with the Ukrainian people and jointly discuss further aid to the country.

"All this leads to Europe rebuilding its defense capabilities, which were diminished for years. The Russian threat was underestimated. There were countries that even cooperated with Russia, that cooperated with Putin giving him the foundations to build his military power. My environment, the environment of Law and Justice [Polish: "Prawo i Sprawiedliwość"] repeatedly warned against this, warned against the recreation of the Russian empire. The late President Lech Kaczynski spoke about this many times. I wish to assure you that we will consistently support Ukraine, but also strengthen the Polish Armed Forces."

- Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak stressed at the conference.

Poland remains one of the most active donor countries in providing aid to Ukraine, both in terms of assistance to the population and the supply of military equipment - the value of which is estimated at more than €2.2 billion, additionally, participates in the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Poland.

When asked about Russian aircraft that have recently approached Poland's borders, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed that NATO provides security over the airspace of Allied countries.

"It should be remembered that the 8 Dutch F-35 aircraft that are stationed in Malbork provide reinforcement of Air Policing mission over the Baltic States. We also strengthen the mission by lending our base in Malbork. We, with our F-16s, are on duty in the airspace of the Baltic States as well. Such behavior on the part of Russian pilots is not unusual. There have been many such cases before. The significant thing is to react and show that NATO's deterrence system works."

- he said.

During the first day of his visit to Brussels, the head of the Ministry of Defense also held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other countries. Deputy Prime Minister Blaszczak met with Pål Jonson, Minister of Defense of Sweden, as well as Arvydas Anušauskas, Minister of Defense of Lithuania, and Guido Crosetto, Minister of Defense of Italy.

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Tomorrow, Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak will attend a session of The North Atlantic Council, which will discuss, among other things, the impact of Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine on the security of the Euro-Atlantic area.