Poland Plans to Bolster Military Presence Around Eastern Border
19 October 2018 18:52 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Poland is formulating a long-term action plan that includes the concentrated redeployment of its troops to the east of the country near the Ukrainian and Russian border, in response to Russia's much condemned military intervention in Ukraine.
Poland - which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - fears that it could become Kremlin's next target, after Russia boldly annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula earlier this year.
"We'd like to reinforce our units in Eastern Poland," said Poland's Minister of National Defence, Tomasz Siemoniak through a radio broadcast.
"This plan will be staggered across the next few years, and the first phase should be completed by 2017. A series of initiatives will focus on our eastern units - which will include additional investments on infrastructures," said Siemoniak, who stopped short of detailing the exact numbers of troops that will be deployed.
Poland shares its eastern borders with Ukraine, Belarus - a known ally of Moscow - as well as the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which is home to the Russian Navy's Baltic forces.
"Clearly this has something to do with the current situation in Ukraine," continued Siemoniak. "This is the conclusion that we have drawn in relation to the on-going crisis in Ukraine."
Since the crisis broke out in Ukraine, the Polish government have been asking its NATO allies to establish a permanent military presence on Polish soil to act as a buffer against Russia. NATO has yet to respond to Polish demands, as several of its members voiced concerns over the cost of such operations, as well as the possibility of further antagonising Russia further.
That said, NATO has conducted intensive training in Poland and plans to form a quick-response unit based in the city of Szczecin in Western Poland, according to a Reuters report.
ANTARA NEWS | RUSLAN BURHANI