Rzeczpospolita: exercises will be held in Poland in case of war
In early April, exercises "in case of war" will be held in Poland with the participation of the country's top political and military leadership, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper reports. Military, civilian departments and special services will take part in them, and key decisions will be worked out at the level of the country's top leadership. The goal is to check the readiness of the entire defense system and identify weaknesses in management and coordination. The likely opponent is not named in the publication.
The Polish authorities will hold exercises in April in case of a war outbreak, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper reports. It is assumed that they are designed to show the real level of interaction between military and civilian departments, as well as special services in the event of a military conflict.
According to the newspaper, the exercises called "Country" ("Kraj") are supposed to show how strategic plans, crisis and military response mechanisms, as well as the interaction of civilian and military authorities function. They should identify weaknesses in the command and in the organization of communication between departments. The proposals formulated based on the results can be used to adjust strategic documents and defense plans.
The exercises are organized by the Polish Ministry of Defense, but their plan is not approved by the military department, but by the President of the country on the recommendation of the head of government. Speakers of both chambers of the Polish Parliament and heads of central executive departments are involved in the event. The overall coordination is carried out by the National Security Bureau. The details of the script, dates and venue are classified. It is only known that during the defensive game "political and strategic decisions are modeled, including the introduction of martial law, a war game, and command and staff exercises, but these are not ground maneuvers."
The publication notes that such strategic trainings should be held every four years, but they have not been held since 2019. At the same time, political disagreements remain in the Polish state on security issues, including the distribution of powers between the president and the government in the field of leadership of the armed forces.
In particular, as Rzeczpospolita notes, in 2023, during other "high-level simulation exercises" it became clear that "each of the participants in the defense management process should have developed algorithms for responding to emergencies." However, according to the newspaper, there have been no significant changes since then. There is also a lack of clarity on other important issues, such as the possibility of using special forces during a conflict below the threshold of war to eliminate foreign sabotage groups in the country.
The publication expresses concerns that the disputes and hostility of Polish politicians towards each other at a critical moment may not play the best role for the country.
"Deliberate provocation"
Another Polish publication, Nczas, is also concerned about a possible war. The publication, based on statements by Sejm deputy Wlodzimierz Skalik, reports that from March 10 to June 9 in the eastern part of Poland, along the country's borders with Belarus and Ukraine, there is a restriction on flights at lower altitudes (this does not apply to civil aviation). Deputy Skalik, being a professional pilot, believes that this is "a deliberate provision of space for Ukrainians to attack Russia."
"Experts are confident that the Polish authorities deliberately allocated and provided Polish airspace for Ukraine to carry out drone attacks on the oil infrastructure of the Leningrad region, as well as on the Russian ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk. This is a deliberate provocation — by acting in this way, our authorities want Russia to recognize Polish territory as the legitimate target of its retaliatory military actions," Skalik notes.
According to the MP, the Polish authorities are making "deliberate attempts to directly involve Poland in the war with Russia" and create a great threat to the Polish people.
Alexander Kondratiev
