On Wednesday, March 8, in Stockholm, Mariusz Blaszczak, Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Defense, participated in an informal meeting of European Union defense ministers. The meeting was chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, J. Borrell.

The main topic of the meeting was Russian aggression on Ukraine and support for Kyiv. The session was attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister O. Reznikov. The ministers also discussed the countries' involvement in the activities of the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) and the Estonian initiative for the joint purchase of 155mm cal. ammunition for Ukraine by European Union countries.

"The meeting and talks, which included two sessions, of the European Union defense ministers have ended. The first was devoted to supporting Ukraine. Minister Reznikov took part in this session. We agreed that the scale and pace of the military support should be sustained. At this session, we also discussed our solidarity when it comes to the refunds of donations that European Union countries provide to Ukraine. It is extremely necessary for the scale of this refund to be strictly established. This encourages the European Union countries to make donations to Ukraine."

- Deputy Prime Minister noted after the meeting.

The commander of the EUMAM mission, Polish Major General Piotr Trytek, presented information on the current mission's activities, which includes providing training for Ukrainian soldiers in Poland.

"We discussed the details of the training mission that is taking place in Poland. It is headed by the commander of the 11th Armored Division, General Trytek. In his speech, he provided information on the scale and scope of these activities. I expressed my gratitude for the involvement of both the soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces, as well as officers from 12 other countries, who are training Ukrainian soldiers in the use and operation of Leopard tanks."

- informed the head of the Ministry of Defense.

The head of the Ministry of Defense also took part in a session attended by NATO Secretary General J. Stoltenberg and the United Nations Deputy Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations J.-P. Lacroix.

"The second session focused on threats of global dimension. These are related to Russian activities. I presented the notion that if there was a situation in which the conflict was not resolved by Ukraine's victory, we would have to deal with the freezing of the conflict. And thus with the threat of Russia attacking Ukraine, or other countries, again. Also, this would negatively affect Russia's aggressive posture in other parts of the world. My assumption was that Ukrainians should be supported to see them win, otherwise Russia will only be encouraged to strike again."

- Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak said.

On the eve of the European Union defense ministers' meeting, Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak met with German Defense Minister B. Pistorius. The topic of the talks was the availability of spare parts for Leopard tanks, which are being transferred by the coalition of countries to Ukraine.

"The production of spare parts for this type of tank, that is, Leopard 2A4, was stopped 20 years ago. The idea is therefore to re-establish this production. We are in dialogue with the German side and the German industry. This is extremely significant in a situation where we want to create a hub where Leopard tanks, before being transferred to Ukraine, will be serviced and repaired. This hub will be created at the Polish plants in Gliwice, at Bumar. For this hub to work, spare parts are needed. We maintain contact and keep a dialogue. I trust that this process will be successful."

- Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak noted after today's meeting.

GALLERY-->> Meeting of European Union defense ministers