Strong army is key to Poland’s security: defence minister

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The Polish defence minister has said that strong armed forces are a guarantee of Poland’s security amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak attends an oath-taking ceremony for new volunteer soldiers in Olsztyn, northeastern Poland, on Friday, August 12, 2022.PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk

Mariusz Błaszczak made the statement at an oath-taking ceremony for new soldiers in voluntary military service, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

Addressing the troops gathered in the northeastern city of Olsztyn on Friday, Błaszczak said: “You are trained now, you know how to use weapons, you know what to do and how to act if the homeland calls.”

He added that the government “is doing all it can to make sure that such a situation never comes to pass.”

‘A guarantee of the security of our homeland’

Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, stressed that the Polish Army was being “enlarged and equipped with modern weapons,” the PAP news agency reported.

He told the new soldiers: “The fact that the Polish Army is increasing its troop numbers, that it is equipped with modern weaponry, that it is training with soldiers from fellow NATO countries, especially US forces, on a daily basis – this is a guarantee of the security of our homeland.”

Błaszczak congratulated the new voluntary troops on their decision to enlist, noting they would now take an 11-month “specialist training programme” after which they could become professional soldiers. 

“Thanks to your service, Poland is secure,” he said, thanking the parents of the soldiers for raising them „in the spirit of patriotism.”

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, radioolsztyn.pl

Radio Poland