On Monday, Poland’s defense minister became the latest official in Europe to warn that his country must urgently prepare for the threat of war with Russia, according to the DPA agency, quoted by Agerpres.

“I expect any scenario and take the worst seriously. This is the task of the Minister of Defense in the situation we find ourselves in today,” said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamis, chosen by the new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for the defense portfolio in his cabinet.

Kosiniak-Kamish made the comment in an interview with the Polish newspaper Super Express after he was asked if he considered Ukraine’s military defeat by Russia and the subsequent invasion of Poland possible in such a scenario.

The 42-year-old minister wanted to add that he did not “say these words out of the blue”, but carefully weighed them before that. He also noted that the ministry he heads has begun to take concrete steps to prepare for the threat he spoke of, including studying gaps in the provision of military equipment to the army.

Although large-scale acquisitions of weapons are very important, the individual equipment of each soldier must be treated with the same seriousness, the Polish minister noted. He also said that Poland intends to play a very important role in the common defense of the EU.

Poland has invested heavily in military procurement

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Poland has increased its military budget to 4% of GDP – double the 2% promised by NATO – and signed numerous contracts for massive arms purchases, including with the US and South Korea.

Under one of these contracts, Washington in late August approved the sale of 96 Apache attack helicopters to the Polish army for $12 billion. Other major US arms contracts were signed for 486 HIMARS multiple-launch systems worth about 10 billion euros, 32 F-35 fighter jets, 366 Abrams tanks and Patriot anti-aircraft systems.

The contracts signed with South Korea concern, in particular, the purchase of more than 800 K9 howitzers, about a thousand K2 Black Panther tanks, 50 FA-50 fighters and 288 K239 multiple rocket launcher systems.

Poland also awarded the British arm of European arms maker MBDA a contract worth about $2.4 billion for anti-aircraft missiles, plus a contract worth about €1.4 billion for four Norwegian Kongsberg anti-ship missile systems.

More and more European countries are warning about the danger of war with Russia

The supply of all this equipment will take place over several years, and some of it, like the South Korean howitzers, will be partly manufactured in Poland.

Kosiniak-Kamish’s comments on Monday came after several senior officials from countries including Britain, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands warned that their countries and the EU should be prepared for conflict with Russia.

General Giorgice Vlad, the chief of defense staff in Bucharest, issued a similar warning last Friday.

However, Prime Minister Marcel Cholaku stated that it is not necessary to prepare for war with Russia and repeatedly assured that such a scenario is unlikely.

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