Poland not planning to send troops to Ukraine - defence minister

Poland has no plans to deploy its soldiers to Ukraine, but will focus on ensuring the logistics for a potential peacekeeping mission, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has told PAP.

Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell
Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

Kosiniak-Kamysz addressed the remarks made by US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, during his interview with Fox Business on Tuesday. Kellogg had said that one of the proposed solutions to resolve the conflict in Ukraine involved the deployment of peacekeeping forces from four European countries, including Poland, to territory west of Ukraine's primary river, the Dnipro, to oversee the ceasefire agreement.

"The stance is clear - Poland has no intentions of deploying or sending troops to Ukraine," the defence minister said. "From the outset, we have defined our role as a logistical and infrastructural hub for such a (peacekeeping - PAP) mission, which would be unfeasible without our involvement," he added.

Kosiniak-Kamysz also said that Poland's allies from 'the coalition of the willing,' an international partnership for the support of Ukraine, understand and appreciate the role Poland would be prepared to play following a potential ceasefire in the conflict.

When questioned if Kellogg's comment could be seen as an attempt to pressure Poland, Kosiniak-Kamysz refuted this notion, asserting that neither he nor Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski had received any such indications. (PAP)

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