Political scientist Zimovsky said that Warsaw is preparing a springboard for NATO allies
Poland announced the holding of "the largest military exercises since 1991" and began a large-scale redeployment of military equipment. Warsaw does not hide that the maneuvers are related to the situation in Ukraine, and declares their purpose to be "working out the reception and deployment of allied troops." "Newspaper.Ru" figured out what the teachings are and what they can lead to.
In the announced plans, we are talking about the redeployment of troops. The Polish Ministry of Defense noted that within a month military equipment will be moved along the roads of the West Pomeranian, Labu, Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Lodz, Mazovian, Lublin and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships. That is, the main directions are the north and east of the country, and this is next to the Kaliningrad region and Ukraine.
Warsaw denies that they are going to introduce their peacekeeping forces into a number of western regions of Ukraine, as the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said earlier.
At the same time, the British authorities announced that they want to send 8 thousand of the kingdom's military to participate in exercises in Eastern European countries. It was not said directly about Poland, but the British media interpreted this attraction as the announcement of a plan to help Warsaw. According to The Guardian newspaper, the exercises "should become one of the largest since the end of the Cold War, where counteraction to Russian aggression will be practiced."
- I told the newspaper.Ru" political scientist Alexander Zimovsky.
The number of Polish servicemen involved in the maneuvers has not been disclosed. On the website of the Polish Army, there was a request to Polish citizens not to take photos and not to post military equipment on social networks that will move along highways.
"The arrival and passage of the convoys will be used to practice the reception and transfer of allied forces, coordination of cross-border actions and cooperation with NATO partners," the Polish military department said in a statement.
The Polish army does not conduct its own field military maneuvers too often and mostly at the level of the "company-battalion" link. Conducts staff exercises more often. Last year, one of them - the Winter-2021 staff exercises - was called "leaky maneuvers" by the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. They were held in conditions of a "virtual clash with Russia". "Their result showed that Moscow can capture Warsaw in five days and we can only hope that a war with Russia will not break out, since there is no chance of winning," the publication reported.
The scenario of the virtual exercises was secret, but the information got into the media and was widely disseminated. The losses of the battalions located on the first line of defense amounted to 60-80%, aviation ceased to exist: according to the results of the exercises, they were destroyed by Russian missiles. The support of the American forces, which have an armored brigade in Poland, did not help.
Now the situation is somewhat repeated - the Polish army is grouped near the Russian border in the north and the Ukrainian one in the southeast, that is, in the zone of direct reach of the Russian operational-tactical military complexes Iskander. Most of the American units in Poland are based either in the center of the country or closer to the western borders.
"Any military exercises or the transfer of troops of a potential enemy, even on its own territory, always arouse the close interest of the Russian army. This is caused by the need for an appropriate response, re-targeting of forces and means in accordance with the situation. The current exercises of the Polish army, of course, will also not remain without the attention of intelligence and military headquarters, but there are no special reasons for panic yet.
- I told the newspaper.Ru" military expert, reserve Colonel Vladimir Popov.
Victor Sokirko
