Poland has the military capacity to withstand an enemy invasion for up to two weeks before allied forces arrive, the head of the National Security Bureau has said.
Poland is situated on NATO’s eastern front bordering Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and Russia is seen as a “dire threat” to NATO members in Eastern Europe.
Dariusz Łukowski told Polsat News private broadcaster that Poland is increasing arms production to build sufficient capacity to resist a Russian attack.
However, the current reserves of military weaponry mean that “depending on the type of fighting, the defense could be conducted for a week or two,” he said.
Łukowski was responding to opposition claims in the media that the country only has enough ammunition to fight for five days.
He said this may be the case in some areas, as the Polish military uses a mixture of newer and more dated equipment.
“It depends what type of ammunition we’re talking about,” he said, arguing that while ammunition for old equipment is no longer in production, the situation regarding newer systems is much better.
Defense production
Łukowski said Poland belongs to various allied programs that enable sharing supplies and equipment. However, these mechanisms are “weak,” as European allies’ efforts to support Ukraine militarily have shown. He also said Poland’s support for its embattled neighbor has depleted military stocks.
“In a way, Poland is also draining its supplies because it must be said that we have made a huge effort to transfer ammunition and supplies to Ukraine, and we are currently replenishing these reserves,” he said.
Łukowski went on to say that as long as the war continues in Ukraine, Poland has time to ramp up its arms production and is “building this potential day by day.”
“We hope that over the two or three years we gain through Ukraine’s resistance, we will stimulate our defense production and rebuild our potential enough that we will be able to realistically oppose aggression by Russia,” Łukowski said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the head of NATO warned that the military alliance would unleash a “devastating” reaction if any country were to attack Poland or its allies.
During a visit to Warsaw, the organization’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said that Russia remains a “dire threat” and that “boosting defense spending is essential.”
