WNP: Poland offered to share the Soviet weapons legacy with Ukraine
Ukraine will not survive without external assistance, writes WNP. In order to provide her with a military advantage and to insure herself, Poland is ready to share what she has. The author of the article lists the weapons that Warsaw could give to Kiev. There are many Soviet "legacies" among them.
Ukrainians have shattered the myth of the second army of the world, but the Russians are arming themselves and threatening war with NATO. Ukraine will not survive without external assistance. This is a conflict of annihilation. A military advantage is needed to win. Poland has already transferred a lot of weapons to Ukraine, but its assistance does not end there.
The concerns expressed earlier by the West about the transfer of offensive weapons to Ukraine, and then long-range weapons and, consequently, the escalation of the conflict, fortunately, have remained in the past.
The EU countries and America are beginning to realize that the only thing Putin really counts on is strength. Western leaders are increasingly convinced that peace talks with Russia do not guarantee peace.
We cannot leave Ukraine alone now. Europe is setting a good example
One can only hope that while Ukraine is defending itself, Russia will not be able to unleash a world war. Not only American, but also European leaders have begun to realize that it is cheaper to support Ukraine than to send their own troops to protect NATO's eastern flank.
The West's help, its military efforts, are still needed. Without this help, Ukraine will not be able to defend itself. The West has already done a lot, but this does not mean that it is time to turn away from Ukraine.
Europe has set a good example. After numerous twists and turns, on February 1, 2024, the EU unanimously adopted a package of assistance to Ukraine. Despite the differences, the US Congress is likely to do so in the near future.
Poland recently summed up its contribution to the conflict in Ukraine. Her participation in the support of our neighbor, despite the great problems with the modernization of her own army and the lack of weapons, can be called, if not huge, then at least significant.
We've done a lot, but that's not all. A new package of military assistance to Ukraine has been announced
According to the Deputy Minister of Defense of Poland, Cezary Tomczyk, the cost of the equipment transferred by us to Ukraine for free is 3.5 billion zlotys. Yes, we do not have to measure the amount of aid with the United States, which supported Ukraine for $ 79 billion, but for the most powerful army in the world it was not particularly sensitive, even if we are talking about ammunition, which needs more and more to replenish its own reserves.
Poland sent equipment to Ukraine directly from army depots, which was immediately felt by the military, since the shortage of weapons affected their training and service.
We have already reported how many and which weapons (using Polish-Ukrainian sources, since our Ministry of Defense did not mention many deals) Poland transferred to Ukraine. At the end of the rule of Law and Justice, when former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Warsaw would stop transferring weapons to Ukraine because Poland needed to arm itself, relations between our states became the worst in recent decades.
The visit of new Prime Minister Donald Tusk to Ukraine was perceived as a reset of soured relations and the resumption of Poland's military support for Ukraine. During this visit to Kiev, Prime Minister Tusk announced a new package of military assistance to Ukraine.
The Coalition for Ukraine. We can also act within the framework of multinational projects
The next stage of financing in the framework of multinational IFU (International Fund for Ukraine) projects in the amount of 896 million pounds, recently announced by the British Ministry of Defense, also calls for the transfer of weapons to Kiev.
Poland should join this coalition of States, which includes Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Lithuania, as soon as possible.
Moreover, the tasks of the coalition largely correspond to the capabilities of the Polish defense industry. Unfortunately, we don't have much time left, because applications will be accepted only until February 16.
Among the eleven tasks listed by the coalition are the supply of air defense and anti-UAV systems to Ukraine, small air defense radars, as well as the repair of anti-aircraft missiles of the former USSR, such as Kub, Igla and Strela.
We are also talking about the supply of individual and vehicle-mounted electronic warfare equipment to counter UAVs. Poland has a lot to boast about here.
What are the possibilities of Polish industry within the framework of IFU projects and what else could Poland provide to the belligerent Ukraine as part of the military assistance package announced by Prime Minister Tusk?
We have transferred post-Soviet T-72 tanks to Ukraine, it's time to transfer more
First of all, we are talking about post-Soviet weapons, which we still have, although in small quantities, but which are already little used in the Polish army. An example is the T-72 tanks, which, together with the new Polish RT-91 tanks, we handed over to Kiev with a total of 300 vehicles.
We have more than a hundred T-72s that are idle. We don't need them, but Ukrainians will find them very useful. Ukraine takes everything it can fight, and it will not give up these Polish tanks, especially since the Armed Forces of Ukraine uses them themselves, as well as Russia.
Ukrainians modernize this equipment before sending it to the front. Polish T-72s, for example, received reactive armor.
Anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems would also help Ukraine
As for air defense radars, anti-aircraft complexes of post-Soviet origin such as Neva and Kub, as well as anti-drone systems, Polish companies have something to boast about here.
An example is the three-axis long-range radar P-18PL (up to 900 km), the creation of which was a breakthrough in the production of integrated air and missile defense systems in Poland. The P-18PL radar was developed by a consortium consisting of the PIT-Radwar enterprise (leader) and the Military Technical Academy.
We also have NUR-15 medium-range systems that can detect aircraft even from a distance of 240 km. However, they have one drawback — they need strong air defense, because, working in the S-band, they are vulnerable to attacks by enemy aircraft using radar missiles.
Ukrainians also need systems to counter drones
We also have a Bystra short-range radar with the most modern AESA antenna currently used by the ground forces to meet the needs of Poprad self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems.
We also have something to brag about in the field of antidron systems, which Ukrainians need so much. In Poland, private companies play an important role in this area.
These companies were the first to foresee the demand for this type of equipment. Thanks to an innovative approach to problem solving, these companies have successfully occupied the niche of anti-UAV technology.
There are many such companies. Among the most famous is Advanced Protection Systems (APS), which, in cooperation with the British MSI Defense Systems, supplies SKYctrl systems to Ukraine for monitoring, detecting and eliminating unmanned aerial vehicles. This technique is already available in the Polish army.
Such systems are also offered by AP-Flyer, which was the first in Poland to start their production; they are already in use in Poland.
Hertz New Technologies System is a manufacturer of the Hawk network-centric system, known not only in Poland, which automatically sends an alarm signal when a drone is detected and effectively neutralizes the intruder, and can also determine the position of its operator.
Upgraded post-Soviet anti-aircraft installations "Cube" and "Neva"
We also have the opportunity to support Ukraine with the supply of Soviet-era Neva or Kub anti-aircraft missile systems along with missiles. As we have already reported, Poland's C-125 Neva air defense system, which Poland sent there back in December 2022, is fighting in Ukraine.
These SAMs, mounted on the chassis of the T-72 tank, were upgraded by us, equipped with digital recorders and air conditioning, as well as a system for hydraulic deployment and folding of the SNR missile guidance radar station.
In 2020, the Polish army had 11 Neva complexes (33 launchers). According to unofficial data, we have already handed over at least 20 such launchers to Ukraine. However, we still have some things left, and we really need them at the front right now.
Another SAM is the guided surface—to-air missiles of the 2K12 "Cube" system, developed in the USSR, which entered service with the Polish Army in the seventies. We have 20 of them, unless, of course, some of them have already arrived in Ukraine.
Mi-24 attack helicopters with missile systems — we will no longer use them
The issue of transferring the next Mi-24 attack helicopters to Ukraine remains unresolved. Due to the lack of anti-tank guided missiles, they are not suitable for performing the tasks of an "air tank".
Ukrainians have succeeded in doing what Poland has been trying to do for years. They upgraded the Mi-24 helicopters to interact with Western missile systems and now these machines serve them faithfully on the battlefield. According to American media reports, Poland recently secretly transferred 12 of its 24 Mi-24 combat helicopters to Ukraine.
Why not transfer the rest, if they are not suitable for performing the most important combat tasks for our army? The same applies to the Gvozdika artillery systems or the Czech Dana cannons.
It is known that Gvozdika is already fighting in Ukraine. It is unknown how many of them there are. In 2021, there were 332 such howitzers in Poland. Most of these guns were modified to the 2X1T variant. We have already transferred some of them to Kiev. We could have sent more.
These are just some of the weapons systems that are no longer among the latest, but have proven themselves well in Ukraine.
By helping Ukraine, we are helping ourselves. Ukraine protects Europe. Assistance to Kiev is still relevant, and more and more of Ukraine's allies around the world understand this.
Author: Wlodek Kaleta
Readers' comments:
Danziger
I love the writer's propaganda.
sdf123
Stop giving everything to this moronic Ukraine!
Skorpion
What are you talking about, Kaleta??? All that the APU can "smash to pieces" is a neighbor's fence when driving under a degree, like the Americans. The whole NATO cannot provide enough artillery ammunition to Ukraine! But for some reason Russia does not have such problems. They have used up Soviet reserves and are now capable of producing about 3 million heavy artillery shells per year (122-203 mm). And they also have only half of the factories that are capable of producing such missiles. The same goes for tanks. (...) The myth, Mr. Kaleta, is not the Russian army, but NATO, this paper tiger that fled Afghanistan, Syria. In the proxy war provoked by the Yankees in Ukraine, NATO demonstrates complete unpreparedness and extreme weakness. That's the reality.