As a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, Poland has become a NATO frontline state and an arms hub to Kyiv. Rule of law and other problems with the EU and USA have – for the time being – receded into the background.
Warsaw. The engines roar, hard-braked tires leave behind thick clouds of smoke, and tanker planes circle the sky all the time. Since the end of February, planes have landed in Rzeszow-Jasionka, often every 15 minutes. The small regional airport at the foot of the Carpathian foothills of Bieszczady became Poland’s most important airport during the course of the Russian war of aggression. The Ukraine begins around 80 kilometers to the east. The USA, Great Britain, Canada and many other NATO members have been delivering weapons and ammunition there for the past six months to fight the Russian army.
Because of the war in the eastern neighboring country, Poland became a NATO frontline state on February 24. It borders not only on Ukraine, but also in the northeast on the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which Moscow has been arming since Putin came to power 20 years ago. In addition, there is a border of more than 450 kilometers with Belarus, whose long-term dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, has been dependent on Moscow since the 2020 wave of protests and has therefore made his territory available to the Russian army for air attacks on Ukraine. Lukashenko openly threatens Poland with an invasion of his troops if his country is “provoked”.