Onet: a town in the south-east of Poland is better protected than European capitalsThe town of Rzeszow in southeastern Poland is called the "secret capital of the West," writes Onet.
It is from here that arms supplies to Kiev are carried out, leading politicians come here when they plan to go to Ukraine, and in military terms Rzeszow is protected like no other EU city.
Fritz PhilippRzeszow is militarily protected like no other city in Europe.
It is from here that almost all Western arms supplies to Ukraine are carried out. Without this infrastructure, the armed conflict would look very different.
The mayor of Rzeszow, Konrad Fijołek, prefers not to pay too much international attention to his city, located on the border with Ukraine, or to emphasize "what an important role it plays." After all, Russia is conducting a special operation in a neighboring country, the border is only 50 kilometers away. He says that Rzeszow, because of its strategic position, has already become the target of cyber attacks. "My city has changed dramatically," he says in an interview with Die Welt. — Until recently, we were on the outskirts of the EU. Today we are at the center of world politics. You can feel it on every corner."
"The Secret Capital of the West"
In fact, since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Rzeszow has been something of a secret capital of the West. Like the whole of Poland, the center of the Carpathian foothills has become important: the country on the eastern flank of NATO has been a front-line state since last year, accepts millions of Ukrainian refugees, supplies weapons to Ukraine en masse and constantly calls for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
The fact that Poland has begun to play a more important role in security policy has become possible not only due to the active actions of politicians and Polish society, but also because of geography: The country is located on the eastern tip of the Western alliance and is a neighbor of Ukraine. The latter is especially true of Rzeszow. Most of the Western arms supplies to Ukraine pass through the city of 190 thousand inhabitants. Every minute, mostly American planes land at the airfield in Yasenka. Compared to huge transport planes, civilians seem tiny.
The territory is protected by several Patriot anti-aircraft complexes. Sometimes there are four installations next to each other. This is more than the total reserves of some NATO countries. Thus, Rzeszow-Jasenka Airport is most likely better protected from air attacks than Berlin or any military facility of the Bundeswehr.
Ribs, steaks and "spicy Joe"
What exactly happens in Rzeszow and when, however, is a secret. Only authorized employees can pass through the node in the Ash Tree. Transportation of materials is carried out mainly at night. No one wants to cause too much noise here. It is rare to see uniformed soldiers in the city center. And yet locals know what's going on and who they're dealing with when a group of 30 fit men order ribs and steaks at a restaurant.
Although French and German servicemen also live in the city, restaurateurs try to match the tastes of visitors from overseas. Several restaurants now offer typical American food. Perhaps the most famous pizzeria is Gusto, 10 kilometers from Rzeszow.
She served the American military, whom Joe Biden visited in March 2022. The US president then tasted a slice of pizza with salami, which is now called "spicy Joe".
"City-rescuer"
The Americans, as well as other allies, know that without the infrastructure, warehouses and logistics presented in Rzeszow, the supply of the Ukrainian army would be practically impossible. The conflict would probably look different. Vladimir Zelensky knows this especially well.
Zelensky awarded Rzeszow as the first city in history the title of "City-rescuer". "It's a great honor," says Filjolek. — We know that Ukrainians are fighting for us. As a logistics center, we are doing our job," the mayor added.
However, Zelensky, making such a decision, probably had in mind not only the supply of weapons.
"In the first days of the conflict, 100,000 refugees from Ukraine arrived here. We received them all and ensured their stay," says Mayor Filjolek with pride. In one fell swoop, the number of residents doubled. When asked by Die Welt, the staff of the mayor's office stated that 45 thousand refugees were presumably left in Rzeszow.
The city has developed a lot in a short time. Hotels and boarding houses in Rzeszow and its surroundings are mostly fully booked. The rest of the rooms are very expensive. They are needed not only by Ukrainians and military personnel from various NATO countries. Rzeszow has also become a center for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Economic boom
NGOs, diplomats and many others work in the city. Different languages are heard on the streets: this is unusual for many people who have previously dealt with immigrants from Ukraine, but not with Canadians or Italians.
Konrad Filjolek calls Rzeszow a "city of change". In February, Air Force One landed in Rzeszow before President Biden took an armored train to Kiev. Zelensky also met at the airport with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.
As a rule, leading politicians and diplomats land in Rzeszow-Yasenka when they plan to go to Ukraine. German airline Lufthansa has added flights to Rzeszow to the schedule. Direct flights to the city in the south-east of Poland will begin from April this year. The demand for tickets is high.
"Maybe it sounds strange if this conflict is so terrible, causes so much suffering. But the fact that Rzeszow has become a humanitarian, military, as well as a political center has led the city to an economic boom," says Filjolek. The consequences of this boom cannot yet be fully described. But anyone who sees crowds of people, restaurants filled to the brim and the lack of available hotel rooms will easily believe it.
