Wisztyniec, Poland. A Polish soldier seen working at the construction of the fence along the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
KYIV — It will soon be exactly one year since the Russian Federation launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. During that time, neighboring Poland has been playing the role of a front-line country — NATO's eastern outpost.
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Sign up to our free daily newsletter.Polish government agencies have been hard at work on what to do if the country is attacked. In particular, a new defense directive. After all, Poland’s Political and Strategic Defense Directive, which has been in effect since 2018, must be updated because it simply doesn't match today's reality.
Poland's Deputy Minister of National Defense, Wojciech Skurkiewicz, announced a change in defense doctrine with the defense forces set up on the Vistula River, located in northeastern Poland. Ukraine's experience shows the need to protect the country's entire territory as quickly as possible.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak also announced the formation of another division of the army, which will operate near the border with Russia and Belarus.
Poland's plans for defense
"We are trying to saturate the eastern part of our country with troops; in this regard, we are implementing new units, which will be set in the territories bordering Belarus and coordinate with legions on the north and south of the country," Blaszczak said.
The former commander of the GROM (Polish special forces unit), General Roman Polko, explained that the doctrine that envisages defense on the newly established Vistula line, in the event of a possible Russian attack, "would lead to the flourishing of barbarism and terrorism in eastern Poland. "
His conclusion? "An enemy like this should not be allowed even a meter into our territory."
Skwierzyna, Poland. Polish Soldiers (Air Defense) singing the Polish National Anthem during a celebration ceremony in 2017.
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr on Flickr
Protecting classified information
Deputy Minister Skurkiewicz stated that politicians in Poland will plan a defense operation. Such an operation falls under the remit of the General Staff of the Polish Army, whose role, as we have recently seen, has been marginalized by government officials. Army staff themselves have been somewhat sidelined.
General Mieczyslaw Gocul, former Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, warned that the new defense strategy can be compromised by politics:
“Politicians no longer listen to the army."
There are also problems preserving classified information, which an aggressive terrorist country like Russia can undoubtedly use. After all, the Kremlin is looking for any weaknesses it can find in the security of Ukraine and other Western countries — and that starts with Kyiv's closest allies in the region.
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