Poland confirms it will not send troops to Ukraine, citing other tasks

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Stock photo: Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on Facebook

Amid discussions about a potential foreign military mission in Ukraine, Warsaw’s position remains unchanged – Polish soldiers will not be deployed to Ukraine.

Source: Polish radio station RMF FM citing Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Minister of National Defence of Poland, as reported by European Pravda

Details: During a press conference on Wednesday, Kosiniak-Kamysz was asked, among other things, how to avoid a repeat of the situation when Polish representatives did not take part in negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine, as well as about statements from the Law and Justice party that Poland would not send soldiers to Ukraine.

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“We will not send Polish soldiers to Ukraine. This has been the government’s position not just for a week, but for many months,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

He noted that this position is shared not only by the government coalition but also by the Polish people. The minister added that Poland’s refusal to send its troops to Ukraine does not mean it is not part of the Coalition of the Willing.

“We also have other tasks, and right now it is about relations with our allies, who fully understand Poland’s position,” he said.

Among Poland’s tasks, he listed the defence of NATO’s eastern flank, the Polish-Belarusian border – where “5,000-6,000 soldiers are constantly deployed” – and providing infrastructure and logistics for a “potential peacekeeping mission”.

“In this process, tens, hundreds, or thousands of Polish soldiers will be involved on Polish territory to ensure the security of allied forces stationed in Poland, or possibly to ensure the security of allied forces that could be deployed in Ukraine.”

Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasised that he had repeatedly spoken with the defence ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UK about Poland’s role as the country providing support for a possible allied mission in Ukraine. He said the commanders of French and British forces, “who have taken on the organisation of the philosophy of the Coalition of the Willing, clearly understand Poland’s role”.

Background: Earlier, UK Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that his country remains ready to consider the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine if a peace agreement with Russia is reached.

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