Now is not the time and place to discuss the possible intervention of the Polish army in Ukraine, it would be an unprecedented event, said former Polish Deputy Minister of National Defence Janusz Zemke. In a conversation with Business Insider, he explained that Ukraine is not a member of NATO or even the EU, but simply a sovereign state, so Polish involvement in the conflict will not do without blood.
Even before the meeting at the Elysee Palace began on Monday, several statements from European leaders emerged that caused serious confusion. The gist of it was that some NATO and EU members started talking about considering sending their own soldiers to Ukraine, Business Insider writes. Poland, however, does not want to hear about this idea, the portal emphasises. On Monday evening, the country’s President Andrzej Duda said the following:
“There are no agreements on this issue, no decisions have been made.”
On Tuesday morning, Deputy National Defence Minister Cesar Tomczyk spoke in a similar tone.
“There is no such project or idea in Poland. We should discuss security issues in the silence of our offices, as these are extremely sensitive issues,” he explained on Polsat News. For his part, visiting Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is in Prague, cut off: “Poland has no plans to send its units to Ukraine.” “I believe that we should not speculate about the future, about whether circumstances will arise that will change this position. Today we should focus, following the example of the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic, on providing as much support as possible to Ukraine in its military endeavours,” the Polish leader stressed.
The experts interviewed by Business Insider also do not want to engage in hypothesis building on the topic of such a possible military intervention.
“This is not the time and place to play the ‘what if’ game,” said a Polish general who wished to remain anonymous. Another military expert only added that even if by some miracle Poland made such a decision, certainly no one would pull reservists into the army and send them to the front. “Moreover, Poland’s position in this regard is extremely clear, so there is nothing to discuss,” he adds.
The Polish authorities’ position is shared by Janusz Zemke, Poland’s former deputy national defence minister. It was when he was in office that Poland was obliged to send its contingents to Afghanistan and Iraq on the basis of decisions taken at the NATO summit after the events of 11 September 2001. “I distinctly remember the funerals of Polish soldiers who died during these missions, there is nothing more terrible,” he shared in a conversation with Business Insider.
According to him, the possible intervention of the Polish army in Ukraine would be an unprecedented event. “Let’s remember that Ukraine is not a NATO member state, or even an EU member state, but simply a sovereign state. Any assistance will require extremely detailed treaties and agreements. There is no room for speculation here,” the former deputy minister explained.
“I am a categorical opponent of such direct involvement, because in such a case Poland would be taking part in the war. It would mean losses. There is no war that ends bloodlessly,” he warns.
At the same time, Zemke believes that Ukraine should be further assisted, and there are many opportunities for this. In addition to the arms deliveries already underway, the next step could be to participate in the modernisation of weapons, where there is plenty of room for manoeuvre. It is also possible to bet on training Ukrainian soldiers and providing medical assistance “After all, there are a lot of wounded people there who need to be treated somewhere,” he summarised.
Business Insider recalls that Polish soldiers in recent years have participated in many foreign missions, mainly peacekeeping or stabilisation. According to the Ministry of National Defence, about 1.4 thousand Polish soldiers are now involved in missions under the auspices of the UN, NATO and the EU. These include military contingents in Turkey, Kosovo, the Central African Republic, Romania, Lebanon and Latvia, among others.
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