Why Poland’s defense spending is on the rise

Another overnight Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine included major strikes on the far western city of Lvivwhich is hundreds of miles from the front line, which has resulted in the deaths of seven people, according to Ukrainian authorities.

These stepped-up strikes are widely seen as retaliation for the ongoing cross-border offensive by forces from Kiev to Kursk. But with the missiles raining down so close to Ukraine’s border with Poland, The Polish Air Force was scrambled during the attack.

Reuters reports that Polish and Allied aircraft were mixed up for the third time in eight days to closely monitor incoming projectiles and were ready to intercept them should the missiles approach Polish airspace.

The incident is visible how easily NATO aircraft could jump into combat against Russian air power on behalf of Ukraine. Warsaw has complained about recent airspace violations by Russian missiles, including a drone that fell on its territory on August 26.

Earlier this week, Poland’s foreign minister sparked fresh controversy within the NATO military alliance, saying member states have a “duty” to shoot down incoming Russian missiles when it is in the sky of Ukraine threatening the population below.

“Joining NATO does not override each country’s responsibility for the protection of its own airspace – it is our own constitutional duty,” FM Rados?aw Sikorski said Financial Times. The comments showed little concern that such action would risk a major escalation with Russia.

“I personally believe that when hostile missiles are about to enter our airspace, it would be legitimate defense (to hit them) because once they pass into our airspace, the risk of the debris injuring someone is significant,” the senior Polish diplomat said.

Undoubtedly, Poland is ground zero for NATO’s “eastern flank” and has been engaged in a massive increases in defense spending and military buildup since the February 2022 Russian invasion began.

Below are some statistics and recent developments in defense spending by Al Jazeera:

• On Tuesday, Warsaw announced new military deals worth $520 millionthe latest move in a bid to bolster its defenses prompted by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
• Poland is currently spending 4% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense – the highest ratio of any NATO member – and hopes to increase the number to 4.7% next year.
• Last month, Warsaw signed a $10 billion deal to buy 96 Apache attack helicopters from the American manufacturer Boeing. They will replace the aging Russian Mi-24 helicopters.
• Warsaw also announced a deal to buy hundreds AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missilesas well as a contract for 48 launchers for the projected US Patriot Air Defense Systems.
• Poland’s army has 200,000 soldiers, which makes it NATO’s the third largest after the United States and Turkeyand the largest in the European Union.

Regarding Poland’s efforts to convince NATO leadership to sign up to new rules of engagement regarding Russian attacks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is expected to step down from the top post soon, issued a rejection.

Previous Russian airstrikes have targeted a military base just tens of kilometers from the border with Poland…

Stoltenberg rejected the Polish proposal and stated that he presents himself too high a risk of NATO “becoming part of the conflict”. Of course, at this point, that seems to be exactly what Zelensky wants – to drag the West deeper into war on Ukraine’s behalf.

By Zerohedge.com

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