Poland has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine as part of post-war security guarantees, saying that logistics support via Poland already constitutes the backbone of operations.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski said after Friday’s EU defense minister meeting that Poland needs to ensure it has troops to repel potential incursions from Russia and Belarus, and thus cannot spare troops for Ukraine.
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“The threat on the border with Russia and Belarus is so great that Poland’s task is to ensure the security of Europe in this area. Therefore, we cannot weaken our forces by sending them to Ukraine. Everyone understands this,” Zalewski said, as reported by Polish outlet RMF24.
In recent years, Poland has been grappling with Belarus’s move to encourage and assist immigrants – mostly from the Middle East – to breach its border via illegal crossings, while recently withdrawing from an anti-landmine treaty in fear of a potential Russian invasion via Moscow’s exclave of Kaliningrad.
Zalewski also argued that Poland’s logistics and infrastructure support via logistics centers, bases and airfields for the guarantees is the backbone of the whole plan, without which it cannot move forward.
“Without what Poland offers, there will be no security guarantees, so Poland’s offer is an absolute guarantee that security guarantees can be implemented,” Zalewski added.
Other Topics of Interest
Patriots to Starlink: New US Arms Deal to Bolster Ukraine’s ‘Robust’ Defense
The latest military sales are a “welcome sign from Washington” that will help prevent ‘any interruption experienced by Ukrainian forces that are relying on’ Starlink, analysts tell Kyiv Post.
Zalewski added that participants of Friday’s meeting share a common view on how to pressure Russia into a ceasefire and what to do when it does happen.
He said more pressure should be applied on Moscow via sanctions to coerce it into complying with a ceasefire.
Zalewski’s comments on troop deployments aligned with earlier remarks by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
At present, among the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” – a Western group of nations championing post-war military support for Kyiv – only a handful of countries have expressed interest in sending troops to Ukraine as part of the security guarantees.
Those include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Lithuania and the United Kingdom.
The US has also ruled out boots on the ground but is rumored to bolster its support via intelligence sharing and arms supplies to Europe.
The Kremlin has maintained its position that it would not accept Western boots on the ground, despite proclaiming openness to security guarantees. It also called for the involvement of Chinese troops – a suggestion turned down by Kyiv.
Europe is also reportedly considering a buffer zone between Kyiv and Moscow-controlled territories, a notion brushed off by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who noted that such de facto zones already exist as no-man’s land, constantly monitored and controlled by drones.