Poland's donations to Ukraine exceed EUR 3.5 bln in 2022-23, says MoD
Poland's largest donations to Ukraine were made in the years 2022 and 2023 when power in Poland had been held by the socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Monday.
Their estimated value totalled PLN 15 billion (EUR 3.5 billion), Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters in Warsaw.
The defence minister denied that the equipment handed over to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression against that country had not been used by the Polish Armed Forces.
"Some people maintain that this was post-Soviet and unnecessary equipment which was no longer being used," Kosiniak-Kamysz continued, adding that "there is no such thing as equipment which is unused since even older versions of T-72 or PT-91 tanks were still being used to train Polish soldiers."
He also underlined that Poland handed over equipment to Ukraine after the General Staff had issued its opinion so that the capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces had not been weakened.
Having repeated that Poland's largest donations to Ukraine were made in the years 2022 and 2023 when power in Poland had been held by PiS, Kosiniak-Kamysz underlined that "assistance for Ukraine is Poland's strategic task stemming from this country's reason of state."
"The more Russian drones are destroyed, the more secure Poland is," he said.
When speaking about the equipment transferred to Ukraine, Kosiniak-Kamysz listed T-72, PT-91 and Leopard 2A4 tanks, Rosomak, BRDM, and BWP-1 armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, artillery equipment, including AHS Krab, 2S1 Gozdzik, BM-21, and 120mm and 60mm mortars, as well as Warmate and FlyEye unmanned aerial vehicles.
The transferred equipment also included MiG-29 aircraft, Mi-24 helicopters; the Vega S-200 air defence missile system; Neva S-125SC launchers, ZSU-23-4 and ZSU-23-2 anti-aircraft systems, and OSA systems with missiles.
Ukraine has also received missiles for KUB systems, tank ammunition, artillery ammunition, mortar ammunition, GROT, PKM, AKMS, and SVD rifles, as well as personal troop equipment.
The value of donations offered to Ukraine since 2024 until the present day has reached PLN 1.55 billion (EUR 360 million), Kosiniak-Kamysz also said, adding that this accounted for ca. 10 percent of the total equipment handed over to that country.
Speaking about concrete donations since 2024, Kosiniak-Kamysz listed PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot air defence system, the ScanEagle unmanned aerial system, missiles, aerial bombs, anti-tank guided missiles, grenade launcher rounds, equipment, accessories, and spare parts for aviation and armoured hardware as well as NEWA air defence systems, and also: tank, artillery, and mortar ammunition, and personal troop equipment.
"All these donations also very often stem from allied commitments. Poland belongs to the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), a coalition of nations supporting Ukraine," the defence minister said and added that Poland had been an active member of the group and chair of a key group for armoured capabilities.
Having recalled that the equipment handed over to Ukraine included both tanks and armoured vehicles, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that "Poland has been a major donor in this field," and aid to Ukraine was also a NATO commitment.
According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, the value of all Poland's donations to Ukraine reached PLN 16.45 billion (EUR 3.8 billion), including PLN 1.55 billion (EUR 360 million) in the years 2024-2026 or nearly 10 percent of the total.
Referring to the donating of the US-made PAC-3 Patriot missiles to Ukraine and the statement made by the president's chief foreign policy aide, Marcin Przydacz, according to whom "Poland even ceded its place in the queue at American factories," Kosiniak-Kamysz denied the accusation.
"Poland has not ceded its place in the queue. All actions ...are being taken to obtain more missiles as soon as possible," he said, underlining that Poland had never been asked to do such a thing.
"The decision to transfer PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot system to Ukraine was made at the request of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and General Alexus Grynkewich, the US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied commander Europe (SACEUR), following consultations with the user group," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
He added that the number of transferred missiles accounted for a marginal portion of Poland's capabilities and, in the opinion of both the General Staff and the US and Allied commander in Europe, did not affect Poland's air defence capabilities.
Kosiniak-Kamysz also said that negotiations were now under way on the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine in exchange for access to selected drone technologies.
"I thought the negotiations had reached a dead end, but last week - or perhaps our clear and firm stance on the matter - offered a chance for further discussions," he said and added that the Ukrainian side confirmed its interest in further talks.
"Ukraine presented proposals for the transfer of drones to Poland over the next two years, so an exchange is a real possibility. But it must be an exchange, not merely a transfer from Poland," the defence minister concluded.
Later on Monday, Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk told TVN24 television that in exchange for transferring "several" missiles for the Patriot system to Ukraine, if Poland was under threat, it would receive "ten times more missiles and systems of this type within the first 24 hours of such threat."
Tomczyk underlined that the entire process had taken place in agreement with the US and the NATO secretary general. He also added that, despite some statements by presidential officials, President Karol Nawrocki had been informed about the transfer of missiles to Ukraine. (PAP)
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