Poland wants to buy tanks and light combat aircraft from South Korea.

Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said so in an interview to be published in Sieci magazine on Monday.

Warsaw initially wants to purchase 180 of the K2 (“Black Panther”) main battle tanks, with the first expected to arrive this year.

So far, Poland had donated about 240 used Soviet-design T-72 tanks to the attacked Ukraine, which, according to Błaszczak, “created a gap” that had to be filled.

Gerhard Gnauck

Political correspondent for Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania based in Warsaw.

  • Follow I follow

Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski criticized the federal government in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine: "The German promises to swap tank rings have turned out to be deceptive maneuvers."

The head of the defense committee in parliament, Michał Jach from the ruling PiS, recently confirmed that further tank deliveries to Ukraine were in the pipeline.

Jach also said he hoped Germany would honor its "commitment" to hand over Leopard 2 tanks to Poland as part of a ring swap.

"But I won't believe that until I see it."

48 fighter jets from South Korea

Also, Poland announced last week that it would purchase 116 used Abrams tanks from America.

The first are expected to arrive in early 2023.

An order for 250 brand-new "Abrams" has also been in place since April.

Before the Ukraine war, Poland had around 800 main battle tanks.

Poland also wants to buy 48 FA-50 fighter jets from South Korea.

Negotiations are "close to completion," Błaszczak said, and the equipment is "compatible" with purchases from America.

Polish military experts expressed doubts about this.

The low price may have played a role in the FA-50 aircraft.

Meanwhile, British military intelligence reports that Russian forces in Ukraine are running out of missiles for ground combat.

Therefore, anti-aircraft missiles would also be increasingly used for ground attacks.

However, they could miss their targets there and are therefore dangerous for civilians.

In massive buildings, on the other hand, they would have little impact.