Tusk: Strong Polish Army Heals WWII National Trauma

NATO Accession and Defense Spending
Poland has only been strengthening its military since NATO. Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea led Poland and other members to increase their defense budgets to 2% of GDP. This pledge has since been reinforced since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. By 2024, Poland was NATO's highest defense spender, investing 4.2% of its GDP on defense.

Poland has more than 200,000 soldiers at present. Tusk underlined that these units are ready to protect the country and they have sufficient arms to prevent any threat.

Focus on Border Security and Foreign Cooperation
Tusk also referred to the East Shield project, Poland’s initiative for strategic defense of its borders with Russia and Belarus. He also disclosed that "Poland will conclude cooperation treaties with France and the United Kingdom in the near future, so we will have closer links to international defense.

Repercussions of WWII in Poland
Poland bears deep, bloody scars from World War II. The country was devastated by Nazi and, after the war, Soviet occupation, which brought mass executions, the Holocaust and widespread destruction. Some 5.6 million people — an estimated 17 percent of the population — died, including 3 million Jews. And cities such as Warsaw were decimated.

President Duda’s global peace appeal
On the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat, President Andrzej Duda made a stirring appeal on social media: “No more war.”

Duda cited ongoing world conflicts, ranging from Russia and Ukraine to the Middle East to India and Pakistan, to underscore the urgency for peace.

He surmised that Poland, having learned the lessons of history, is determined to be safe and secure — by the strength of its military and the strength of the international alliances.

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