Poland "rises to number 1 in NATO", spending lavishly on defense

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on the evening of July 12 that Poland will spend 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense by 2025.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the country will spend 5% of GDP on defense by 2025. (Source: X)

In an interview with Bloomberg , Mr. Sikorski stated: "Poland spends 4% of GDP on defense in 2024 and 5% of GDP in 2025. We are number 1 in NATO, which includes the US, obviously proportionally, because we are no longer living in the long-term peace of the post-Cold War era."

Despite Poland's generous spending, however, the country's foreign minister cautioned against using the military budget as a barometer. Citing Iceland as an example, he noted that although the country has no army, it is still very important due to its strategic location.

Mr. Sikorski also revealed that the Polish government is in dialogue with both Donald Trump's and President Biden's teams.

Speaking on private television station TVN24 on July 11, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk announced that the country will increase its defense budget by about 10% by 2025 to a record high.

Earlier, on July 10, Polish Army Chief of Staff General Wieslaw Kukula said at a press conference that the country needed to prepare its soldiers for a full-scale conflict. The statement was made in the context of Poland increasing the number of soldiers on the border with Russia and Belarus.

Speaking at a press conference, General Kukula argued: “Today, we need to prepare our forces for a full-scale conflict, not an asymmetrical conflict... This development forces us to find a balance between the mission in the border area and maintaining the intensity of training in the army.”

Meanwhile, Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda confirmed that from August, the number of soldiers guarding the country's eastern border will increase to 8,000, from the current 6,000. In addition, an additional reserve force of 9,000 people can be reinforced within 48 hours.

Poland's relations with Russia and Belarus have deteriorated sharply since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in late February 2022.

In May, Poland announced details of its “Eastern Shield” – a 10 billion zloty ($2.5 billion) program to bolster defenses along its borders with Belarus and Russia, due to be completed by 2028.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ba-lan-vuon-len-so-1-nato-manh-tay-chi-tieu-hao-phong-cho-quoc-phong-278588.html