The formation is needed to deter Russia, Mariusz Blaszczak claims
The Polish military is going to create a new infantry division equipped with state-of-the-art hardware in the eastern part of the country, Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has said.
Warsaw intends to put the new formation together “as soon as possible,” Blaszczak pledged on Monday.
The main area of its operations will be the Podlasie Province, bordering fellow NATO member Lithuania and also Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia.
According to the minister, the division will comprise four brigades, separated into four battalions. A division is a military formation, consisting of between 6,000 to 25,000 troops.
The new forces will be armed with US-made Abrams and South Korean K-2 tanks, locally-made Krab and Korean K-9 howitzers, as well as reconnaissance drones, he said.
In his interview on Tuesday, Blaszczak expanded on the reasons for the creation of a new armed formation in that specific area.
“We know who threatens us and where… For Poland, the main threat is Russia and its imperial tendencies. That is why more troops are needed in the east of the country and that’s why a new division is being set up,” he told the I.pl news portal.