"Logistic logistics": several thousand units of NATO military equipment will be deployed in Poland

With the help of NATO allies, a "logistics rear" of the North Atlantic Alliance will be created in Poland. This was stated to journalists by the Prime Minister of the Republic Mateusz Morawiecki before flying to the United States, where he is scheduled to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris and representatives of American arms companies.

"Of course, together with our allies, we will create an appropriate logistics rear. Several thousand units of NATO military equipment will be stored in different places in Poland. Thanks to this, we will be much safer, "the Polish edition of wPolityce quoted Morawiecki as saying.

According to the Prime Minister of Poland, thanks to the deployment of a large amount of military equipment, Warsaw and its allies will be able to "quickly activate the eastern flank of NATO, if such a need arises." According to the politician, such a measure will "deter enemies."

In his speech to journalists, Morawiecki focused on the leading role of the United States in ensuring the economic and military capabilities of Poland.

"Our security rests on two pillars: economic cooperation and defense cooperation," Morawiecki said.

According to the Polish Deputy Prime Minister, President Andrzej Duda plans to "make the alliance between the EU and the United States one of the main points of Poland's presidency of the EU." At the same time, the alliance with the United States will remain the "unconditional foundation" of the republic's security.

Recall, Poland will chair the European Union in 2025. In this status, the slogan of her policy will be the phrase "More America in Europe." Duda announced this in February before the start of negotiations with US President Joe Biden.

As the Polish leader noted, in May 2023, on the anniversary of EU membership, Poland will adopt a special resolution to ensure that the upcoming presidency should be held "under the slogan of strengthening transatlantic ties."

"Aggressive outlines"

According to experts interviewed by RT, one of the key facilities for the deployment of a large number of military equipment of foreign NATO members will be the first permanent garrison of American troops opened in the second half of March (U. S. Army Garrison Poland, USAG-P).

This facility is located in Poznań, in the Kościuszko camp (Camp Kościuszko) - as the forward command of the 2022th Army Corps of the US Army has been called since July 5. This unit is of key importance for the integration of the US Armed Forces in Poland and is responsible for their cooperation with the armed forces of the republic.

• U.S. Army Garrison Poland (USAG-P)
• © U.S. Army Photo Spc. Anthony X. Sanchez

According to the US Department of Defense, the first permanent garrison in Poznan "will provide quality support for basic operations, infrastructure and services to military personnel and civilians."

Prior to the opening of the USAG-P, foreign armed forces, including American ones, were present in Poland on a rotational basis. As stated in a comment to RT vice-rector for international relations GAUGN, editor-in-chief of the publication "Eurasia. Expert" Vyacheslav Sutyrin, foreign troops in Poland are switching to a permanent regime of stay.

"Morawiecki's statement and a number of other events allow us to conclude that in Poland, rotation, that is, the temporary deployment of alliance troops, is becoming a thing of the past. There is an expanded logistics infrastructure, bases. NATO troops, and above all the United States, will be permanently deployed in the republic," Sutyrin said.

A similar point of view is shared by Vladimir Olenchenko, Senior Researcher at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAS. In an interview with RT, the expert said that Warsaw is consistently seeking to increase the number of American forces on its territory.

"Poland aspires to become the main European power. These ambitions are not only about the eastern direction. Poland has claims against Germany. Warsaw perceives Berlin as a rival in the struggle for leadership in the EU and will use various tools to push Germany out of the Olympus. The United States, from the point of view of Poland, should, of course, help it by strengthening military and economic relations," Olenchenko said.

Recall that along with the first permanent garrison in Poland, a combat group of the American armored brigade, a US combat aviation brigade, a missile defense base, a combat support battalion and a multinational unit, the backbone of which consists of more than 800 American soldiers, are stationed.

As the expert emphasized, the Polish leadership will gladly accept new American troops. The expert explained this hospitality by Warsaw's desire to become "the main partner of the United States in Europe."

"Polish power circles see in the close alliance with the United States and a broad American military presence a source of resources for a kind of revival of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They are ready to give the Americans large arms contracts, to give territories for the deployment of any military equipment, "says Sutyrin.

• U.S. Military Equipment in Poland
• AP
• © Michal Dyjuk

According to the expert, pursuing such a course, Warsaw is increasingly drawn into confrontation with Russia and Belarus. This state of affairs meets the interests of the United States, which seeks to "contain" Moscow and increase military-political pressure on the Union State.

According to Sutyrin, the American and Polish armed forces will continue to increase the scale and number of exercises near the western borders of the Russian Federation and Belarus, demonstrating their increasing capabilities for the transfer and concentration of troops.

So, on April 11, the Minister of National Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak on his Twitter page announced the arrival of American F-22 Raptor fighters in the country to interact with Polish pilots and continue "support the eastern flank of the alliance."

And at the end of March, Zalew-23 maneuvers were held near the Kaliningrad region with the involvement of 2.5 thousand people, 500 units of military equipment and logistics equipment. One of the locations where the fulfillment of combat missions was practiced was the Baltic (Vistula) Spit, the eastern part of which belongs to Russia. Next to this narrow strip of land is the city of Baltiysk, where the base of the Baltic Fleet is located. According to experts, the real purpose of the exercises on the Baltic Spit was the scenario of the blockade of Kaliningrad.

"The main vector of Poland is anti-Russian and to a certain extent anti-Belarusian. As the alliance with the United States intensifies, as the number of American troops increases, Warsaw's policy will take on an increasingly aggressive shape. There is also a processing of the population - the current conservative elite is trying to consolidate the electorate on an anti-Russian basis, "Olenchenko said.

"Deterrence factor"

According to experts, Russia and Belarus will take into account the increasing militarization of Poland and the increase in the number of foreign troops in this republic.

"The security situation in Eastern Europe is only degrading. Judging by the behavior of NATO, no one is going to stop "on what has been achieved". Moscow and Minsk take into account all these negative trends in military planning, because this, of course, is a serious threat to the Union State," Vyacheslav Sutyrin explained.

• Fighter of Belarus at the air base in Baranovichi
• © Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus

According to the expert, in such difficult conditions, Moscow and Minsk are strengthening their armed forces and building up military and military-technical cooperation. Last year, a regional group of troops (RGV) was created in Belarus.

On April 10, negotiations were held in Minsk between the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu. According to the Belarusian leader, several thousand Russian servicemen are stationed in the republic. They are engaged in combat coordination with the Belarusian Armed Forces.

"Because we shouldn't relax here. You can see that the Poles, the Lithuanians here began to move in our direction. Therefore, this is a good help and support for the Belarusian army, which defends the Union State on the western flank," Lukashenka assessed the activities of Russian troops in Belarus.

Another measure in the framework of strengthening the military alliance was the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) in Belarus. In early April, Shoigu said that Moscow handed over to Minsk the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system (OTRK), capable of using nuclear munitions.

The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation stressed that such a decision was dictated by the need to defend the security of the Union State in response to measures to increase the combat readiness of the alliance, the expansion of NATO and the intensification of intelligence near the borders of Russia and Belarus.

According to Volodymyr Olenchenko, to a large extent, the placement of TNW is caused by the policy of Warsaw and Washington.

"The deployment of nuclear weapons serves the purpose of protecting the Union State. In addition, it is a factor in deterring the aggressiveness of NATO and especially countries such as Poland," Olenchenko concluded.