Damian Cygan: The government is announcing this as part of the “Eastern Shield” plan Strengthening the border with Belarus and Russia. How do you rate these programs?
Romuald Szeremietiew: It seems that the BIS MPs visited the Ministry of National Defense and wanted to see what the plans for strengthening the eastern border looked like, but there was nothing there. So we don’t know how the stories of the politicians will be fulfilled. First, the operational preparation of the territory of the state for protection must be carried out by people who know what they are doing. Secondly, the question arises as to how we are going to solve the fundamental problem that we have now with regard to the use of the Polish army.
What do you say?
Something called NATO’s Eastern Front has been in operation for some time. We have already heard several times suggestions that Poland would play a very important role in supporting the Baltic States if their security was threatened. There is also the issue of the famous Chuasky Isthmus. So the question is: Can Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia be supported with the help of wetlands and fortresses? Because, from the words of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense, it seems that the “Eastern Shield” is an important part of Poland’s defense. That is, we protect our own borders without considering whether we need to protect anything else.
I understand that “Shield East” should be linked “Baltic Defense Line”Formed by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia?
Donald Tusk’s government must first implement the disarmament orders put in place by the United Right-wing government. I know that the present government is not very fond of its predecessors, but in the interest of defending the country Poland must have an army capable of carrying out operations at the front, in addition to these completely pointless fortifications. Our boundaries. Because it would be bad if Polish borders were to be defended only on our territory.
Today, this front is Ukraine.
The advantage of the war in Ukraine is that there is precedent for resistance against the Russian invasion. It would be good to have such a front on other parts of our eastern border, and thus the ability to maneuver in Belarus and the Baltic states. In addition, Poland has ordered long-range ballistic missiles, tanks, F-35 and FA-50 aircraft – all these together, in the conditions of the current war in Ukraine, can play a very important and even role. Victory character.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested this Polish fighters must shoot down Russian missiles. What do you think about this?
This was certainly an attempt to draw Poland into the war. It’s Ukraine’s interest, and someone else has to show up militarily to protect it, and I understand that. But from the point of view of our interests, this is not a wise thing to do. Capacity for functional activities should not be confused with functional activities. Because we need to use our capabilities when there is a real threat to our security from Russia. Unless there is such a direct threat, there is no need to initiate a conflict.
Could Moscow consider NATO entering the war if Poland complies with President Zelenskiy’s request?
I do not know. When force, i.e. the military, begins to be used in international relations, very different elements determine whether or not decisions are made. In my opinion, the idea that Putin dared to attack Ukraine in February 2022 is true because he believed the West was weak. He concluded this after seeing how America was withdrawing from Afghanistan. The situation at the moment is that the Americans are in NATO’s eastern flank. But let’s imagine that Germany actually takes responsibility for the Eastern Front, and then America decides it doesn’t need to be here anymore and pulls back. And Germany did not have the powers to replace American powers. The question is whether Putin will not dare to attack then.
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General Polko: Zelensky is good to talk about our fighters destroying the missiles