Poland Holds Its Largest Military Parade to Date

Poland held its largest military parade to date on Saturday. To mark Polish Armed Forces Day and the anniversary of the victory over the Bolsheviks in the Battle of Warsaw in 1920, approximately 2,000 soldiers marched through the capital alongside about 300 pieces of state-of-the-art military equipment, according to reports from the DPA and PAP news agencies.

The parade, stretching several kilometers, began in the afternoon in Warsaw as more than 60 military aircraft, including F-35 fighter jets, flew over the city. This was followed by a ceremony during which President Karol Nawrocki promoted 21 Polish officers. In his speech to the crowd and the soldiers at the parade, Nawrocki said that he views 15 August as "a day of commitment to the present and the future". According to him, the Polish people are a nation "knows perfectly well the price paid for independence and freedom".

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk attended a separate naval review, which took place near the cities of Gdynia and Gdansk on the Baltic Sea coast and featured about 20 vessels and aircraft of the Polish Navy.

"We want to avoid war, and only those who are strong, well-prepared, truly independent and sovereign will avoid war", Tusk declared.

According to PAP, Poland is rapidly modernizing its military capabilities in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. As a NATO member, it has significantly increased its defense spending, allocating more than 4% of its GDP to this purpose. In his speech, Tusk outlined the four main pillars of the strategic framework designed to guarantee Poland's future security: border protection, defense alliances and an appropriate foreign policy, investment in the military, and economic growth.

According to PAP, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said that Saturday's military parade was the largest in the country's history. Among the vehicles showcased were the Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), K2 and Abrams tanks, Krab and K9 self-propelled howitzers, as well as the Patriot and HIMARS missile defense systems.

(tasr, dpa, pap)