Poland pledges to send weapons to Ukraine

Warsaw says arms can be delivered ‘within days’

Camouflaged Ukrainian soldiers operate anti-tank missile systems at the Yavoriv military base close to the Polish border (EPA)

Poland wants to supply neighbouring Ukraine with weapons, the head of the National Security Bureau Pawel Soloch said on Monday, as tensions continue to rise between Russia and the west.

"A decision was made to supply the Ukrainian side with defensive munitions,” Soloch told journalists at a press conference in Warsaw. “The offer was made to the Ukrainian side, we are waiting for an answer.”

Several tens of thousands of munitions and humanitarian aid could be delivered “within days”, he said, as Russia continues to amass troops near its border with Ukraine.

The announcement followed Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau’s warning of a possible Russian military build-up in neighbouring Belarus.

“We are aware of planned exercises of Belarusian and Russian troops in February,” Rau said during a one-day visit to the Estonian capital Tallinn, where he met with the country’s leaders to discuss regional security.

“We are even observing some tendencies that can indicate that we will face Russian military buildup in Belarus in the future,” said the foreign minister.

Rau’s comments shed renewed light on Warsaw’s anxiety following months of military build-up in its back yard.

In November, Russian paratroopers were dispatched to the Belarus-Poland border, followed by a more recent batch of soldiers two weeks ago. Images on Twitter on Monday showed alleged Russian military vehicles on the road to Belarus.

According to the Kremlin, the deployments are part of a joint military drill scheduled for February, not a prelude to war. But regional leaders have reacted with skepticism and alarm.

Western leaders have warned of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Polish Foreign Minister Rau earlier this month saying the risk of war “was greater than ever before in the last 30 years”.

In addition to Russia’s military deployment to the Belarus-Poland border, a further 100,000 soldiers are also stationed on the border with Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin demands the prevention of a further NATO expansion and the withdrawal of NATO to pre-1997 positions.