His Royal Highness Prince William paid a visit to the 3rd Subcarpathian Territorial Defense Brigade in Rzeszow on Wednesday, March 22. The meeting with Polish and British soldiers was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.

"This is a great honor and distinction for me. I am proud that in the presence of the Prince of Wales, His Royal Highness, I can thank British and Polish soldiers for their joint service on Polish soil. I am especially grateful for the presence of British soldiers right here in the Podkarpackie and Lublin voivodeships. That is, in the regions bordering directly with Ukraine. Back then, when Russia invaded Ukraine, when we took in millions of refugees from Ukraine, the Polish services were supported by British soldiers. We are extremely grateful for this fact."

- Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak stressed.

Due to the need to support the eastern flank in the face of the war in Ukraine, about 400 British troops are currently stationed in Poland, most of which are deployed in the southeast of Poland (Rzeszow, Zamosc, Lublin).

"I also thank you for the Polish-British military cooperation, examples of which can be multiplied. I will only mention a few, namely the presence of British soldiers under the NATO eFP program in the northeastern part of our country, and the presence of British soldiers from the engineering unit. Even before the Russian attack on Ukraine, when Poland was attacked from the direction of Belarus - a hybrid attack with the use of migrants invited by the Lukashenko regime, the Polish border was reinforced by Polish, but also by British soldiers. Thank you also for your support when it comes to covering the Rzeszow airport. Because it is the British unit, consisting of soldiers who operate anti-aircraft and anti-missile equipment, the Sky Saber system are present right here in Rzeszow. They are guarding the skies over Poland and providing security while the free world is supporting the defending itself Ukraine."

- Deputy Prime Minister noted.

From December 2021 to August 2022, a subunit of engineering troops from the UK was in Poland, working with the Polish military to reinforce the border with Belarus. And since June 2022, a British Sky Sabre air defense system has been stationed in Poland. Interoperability between Polish and British soldiers is also being built in joint military exercises and by coordinating efforts of Polish Armed Forces' soldiers with those of allied forces stationed in Poland.

Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak and His Royal Highness Prince William thanked Polish and British soldiers for their service and for strengthening security on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance.

"Your Royal Highness, once again, thank you for the fruitful Polish-British cooperation. It is one of the exemplary instances of how the unity of the countries of the free world can be built. I sincerely thank you for this"

- Deputy Prime Minister said.