Poland Seeks to Become “True Land Superpower in Europe” – Adds New Army Division

The Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced recently that the Polish Army would add a new army division in order to raise the uniformed soldiery of the country to 300,000 in a bid to become a “true land superpower in Europe”.

The new army will also be accompanied with “unprecedented” purchases of military firepower all in the name of preparing for possible war with Russia.

“We need new units and new military structures. My aim is to build an army of at least 300,000 soldiers,” Minister Błaszczak told reporters, adding that the current force is around 164,000 men.

“The year 2023 will bring new equipment deliveries, new contracts, intensive training of army units and the creation of new military structures” in the east of the country, he told the magazine Polska Zbrojna.

“By way of comparison, France has an army of 200,000 troops, Germany of 180,000 and Britain 148,000,” reports Anti bellum. “Only the armed forces of the U.S. and Turkey (425,000) are larger than 300,000 personnel”.

“We know who poses a threat to Poland and where this threat comes from. In fact, we’ve been saying it for years,” the minister said at a press conference. “For Poland, the basic threat comes from Russia and its imperial ambitions”.

The new unit’s official name will be the 1st Infantry Division of the Legions, in tribute to a prewar Polish unit, and will be equipped with US-made Abrams tanks and K2 Black Panther main battle tanks from South Korea. Polish, US, and Korean howitzers and Polish-made Gladius attack/recon drones will complete the arms package.

The Polish 2023 military budget jumped up to $25 billion, a total of 3% of the country’s GDP—or roughly three times the contribution the Japanese record-breaking military budget increase arrived at recently.

The Polish government has been the staunchest supporter of NATO’s assistance in Ukraine among European countries since the war began. WaL