2023-08-16 15:29:59
On Monday, around 2,000 soldiers and 200 armored vehicles, among others, marched through the streets of Warsaw on the occasion of Polish Armed Forces Day. A real show of force, as the country has significantly increased its military spending.
Poland saw its biggest military parade since the end of the Cold War on Polish Armed Forces Day on Monday.
In front of several thousand spectators massed under a blazing sun, the army presented its latest purchases: Abrams and Leopard tanks as well as Korean-made K2 tanks. In the sky, two American F35 planes that will soon belong to Poland took over from the Apache and Blackhawk helicopters.
For eight years, the country’s military spending has increased by 75%, from 10 to more than 17 billion dollars (15 billion francs) per year, in 2022. Since the start of the war in Ukraine at the gates of Poland , the budget has increased again. Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, assumes this strategy.
“This year, we are going to spend 4% of our GDP on defence, that is to say 137 billion zlotys (approx. 29 billion francs). As a percentage, this is NATO’s largest funding”, declared the Head of State during his speech.
The objective of this great modernization of the army is “that no one ever dares to attack the country”, he added.
Security fears
Among the spectators in the procession was Janusz, a 53-year-old teacher. For him, the war in Ukraine and the repeated provocations of the Belarusian regime on the Polish border justify all this expenditure.
“We have no expansionist will but we must examine history with lucidity and draw the consequences. Today, each military company has its place, we feel that there is a good strategy”, approves- he.
>> Read also: How Poland is building the most powerful army in Europe
The nationalist populist party in power, Law and Justice (PiS) does not hide it: the objective is to provide the country with the largest army in Europe.
The modernization of the Polish army should therefore be further accelerated. Poland wants to increase the number of soldiers to 300,000 within ten years, ie a doubling of its military personnel.
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