Poland will send arms to Ukraine amid looming threat of Russian invasion, says Polish PM
Poland will provide Ukraine with arms and humanitarian aid to support it amid the threat of a further Russian invasion, the Radio Poland news portal quoted Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as saying in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv on Feb. 1.
Morawiecki’s statement came the day after a national security official in Warsaw said that Poland would provide Kyiv with “defensive ammunition” as a show of support for its neighboring country.
“Today we stand side by side with the Ukrainian state to help and support the defense of the threatened Russian neighbor,” Morawiecki said at a news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal.
“We express our solidarity in words and deeds. Poland is ready to provide support …” the Polish premier said.
Morawiecki announced that Poland would send tens of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition, light mortars, man-portable air-defense systems and surveillance drones to its ex-Soviet neighbor to help it defend itself against a possible Russian attack.
Western countries are actively sending weapons to Ukraine amid the reports of a Russian offensive.
In particular, six transport aircraft with military aid from the United States have arrived in Ukraine since early 2022.
On Jan. 18, Ukraine received a shipment of NLAWs (Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons) from the United Kingdom.
The Netherlands and the Czech Republic have also announced their readiness to send defensive weapons to Ukraine.
On Jan. 21, the defense ministers of the three Baltic states said the United States had given them permission to send U.S.-made Stinger shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin portable anti-tank missiles.
Russia has been massing troops at the Russian-Ukrainian border since late October.
More than 130,000 Russian troops and offensive weapons have been deployed near Ukraine’s borders and in the temporarily occupied territories, according to the latest intelligence estimate from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
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