On Tuesday Poland’s President Andrzej Duda spoke about plans to spend more than four percent of its gross domestic product on defense in 2024 amid security concerns over the war in Ukraine.
At the opening of this year’s edition of the region’s biggest trade fair for military equipment, the MSPO in Kielce, Poland he announced the sum of 137 billion zloty ($33 billion). Andrzej Duda said:
“When we see the emerging danger beyond our eastern border … we know perfectly well — history and experience has taught us this — that any price is worth paying to ensure that Poland is free, sovereign, independent and that Poles can live in safety. Next year, we are going to spend 137 billion zloty on defense. That is more than four percent of our GDP”.
That is an increase on the four percent of GDP Poland had pledged to spend on defense this year and much more than the 2 percent agreed by NATO allies.
Since Russia’s invasion last year, Poland has become a faithful ally of Ukraine. Recently, the Polish government expressed concern about its eastern neighbor – Belarus. The Wagner group that is currently stationed there is worrisome.
Warsaw has signed multiple arm deals, including with the United States and South Korea, from whom it ordered K2 “Black Panther” tanks and K9 howitzers.
Last month, the US approved a $12 billion sale of Apache attack helicopters to Poland, in another example of Warsaw’s bid to boost its military capabilities in light of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In April Poland also announced that it had signed a £1.9-billion ($2.4-billion) air defense deal with the UK arm of Europe’s MBDA, which will provide missiles and missile launchers.
This June a first shipment of US-made advanced Abrams tanks was sent to Poland. It had ordered a total of 366 tanks.
