Poland's PM warns 40 mn Poles will defend their homeland with weapons if Russia invades

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin that his troops would be confronted by 40 million Poles standing with "gun in hand to protect their motherland" if at all they attempt to invade Warsaw. Morawiecki announced plans to fund "a firing range in every town," of which, there are 2,477 across the country, as he addressed the opening event of an air-gun shooting range in Silesia.

Mateusz Morawiecki stated, "If Russia ever had the idea of attacking Poland, Russia must know, the Kremlin must know, that in Poland, there are 40 million Poles ready to stand with gun in hand to defend their motherland."

He claimed that the long period of peace has come to an end, possibly for many years, as a result of Russia's ruthless, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Polish leader further stated emphatically that the country will not revert to its erstwhile state of captivity under Russian rule.

"We must be sufficiently armed to deter an enemy," he added.

In the wake of Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, Poland announced plans to dramatically boost its defence budget, with Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski announcing before the lower house of parliament in March that the administration will spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2023. The country's Minister of Defense, Mariusz Bazczak, has revealed plans to purchase three more Kormoran II class destroyers as the country's military modernization and development programme continues.

NATO would come to rescue if Russia invades Poland: Austin

Unlike Ukraine, Poland is protected as a NATO member by the organization's collective defence, which sees an assault on any NATO member as an attack on all. Earlier last month, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promised Poland that if Russia decided to invade the country, NATO would come to its rescue.

Meanwhile, on the 110th day of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukrainians formed a human chain around the European Commission headquarters in an attempt to persuade the EU to accept their country's membership. According to TpyxaNews, a live chain of over a thousand people formed around the European Commission building in Brussels on June 13. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing for Ukraine's accession to the EU as quickly as possible in order to lessen the country's geopolitical vulnerability, which was starkly shown by Russia's invasion on February 24. 

Image: AP