Polish-British military cooperation strengthens NATO's Eastern flank
17.03.2022
“We can count on the United Kingdom.Then, when Poland was attacked by the Belarusian regime, when hybrid attacks were conducted on the Polish border, it was then that I spoke to Ben Wallace, who offered support by deployment of soldiers from the British engineering troops. The soldiers came to Poland in a very short time and to this day they serve on the Polish-Belarusian border supporting Polish soldiers. Thank you very much for that ” - said Minister Mariusz Błaszczak after the talks with the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence , Ben Wallace, were concluded.
On Thursday, March the 17th ,a meeting of Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and Ben Wallace, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence, was held in Warsaw, where issues related to the situation in Ukraine and the security of NATO's Eastern flank were discussed.
The head of the Ministry of National Defence thanked the British side for their support in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
“At that time, when everything indicated a Russian attack on Ukraine, British forces in Poland were strengthened by stationing more soldiers in the south-eastern part of our country. It was the right reaction to strengthen our resistance to everything that is happening beyond our eastern border. For years, we have been hosting British soldiers in the north-eastern part of our country, where, together with Polish and American, Romanian and Croatian soldiers, they care for the security of NATO's Eastern flank"
- said Minister M. Błaszczak, thanking the secretary of defence for his cooperation.
The United Kingdom supports Ukraine in many areas, the target of the Russian invasion. The presence of British soldiers on NATO's Eastern flank, including in Poland, is also increasing. In February, during Minister Mariusz Błaszczak's visit to London, a decision was made to increase the contingent by another 350 British soldiers. In addition, British engineering troops support Polish soldiers in protecting the border with Belarus by renovating the damaged fence and maintaining access roads to the border strip. British soldiers are also stationed in Poland as part of the multinational battalion battle group eFP (Enhanced Forward Presence). The framework nation is the USA, and the allies from Romania and Croatia also serve there. On a daily basis, the group cooperates with the Polish 15th Mechanized Brigade.
Secretary Wallace announced that as part of allied support, the United Kingdom will deploy the Sky Saber missile system and 100 additional troops in Poland.
“As a NATO ally and very old ally it is very right impression to stand by Poland , has Poland carried much of the burden of the consequence of this war and stand tall and brave to stand up to the threat of Russia. That is why today I can announce we are going to deploy the Sky Sabre medium-range, anti-air missile system to Poland with 100 personnel to make sure that we stand alongside with Poland and protecting her air zone from any further aggression by Russia. This is our newest medium range air defence missile with the ability to hit a tennis ball at the speed of sound. It is also a system that we will develop together with Poland in the future”
- said B. Wallace, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence.
During the Thursday meeting, the heads of defence ministries also discussed matters related to military cooperation between the two countries.
The head of the Ministry of National Defence emphasized that cooperation between Poland and the United Kingdom is also very good in the area of the defence industries.
“We are interested in cooperation related to anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence. This is the NAREW program run by Poland. We cooperate in the construction of frigates that will be used by the Polish Navy. Thank you for making this cooperation so good"
- said M. Błaszczak at the press conference.
