Expert commented on Poland's military preparations on border with Belarus: it’s pointless defence
The Polish Armed Forces launched Operation Eastern Dawn in August to strengthen air defence capabilities on the country’s eastern borders, including on the border with Belarus. In early July, the Polish Defence Ministry announced a decision to increase the army contingent to 17 thousand troops near Belarus as part of Operation Safe Podlasie. It is also planned to start work on the construction of defensive fortifications on the border: it seems the fences, which are supposed to deter migrants, are no longer enough for the Belarusian neighbour. In his talk with Alfa Radio, philosopher Aleksei Dzermant speculated on how these actions should be treated, and what needs to be done.
“It is their sovereign right to undertake certain military preparations on their territory. The issue is that such preparations will not improve the security situation in any way. There must be mutual trust to be sure that no one attacks each other. The Belarusian side has been doing everything to ensure that such trusting relations exist, but Poland got engaged at some point into hybrid aggression and sanctions wars against our country,” the expert noted. “It is now actually creating a new iron curtain, and this means Poland is not aimed at a respectful and calm dialogue. It is rather rattling its weapons, building walls, and trying to convince itself that it will protect its population from something in this way. Actually, to put it bluntly, if a conflict emerges, we will definitely not allow any invasion of our territory. Moreover, we do not need Polish territory at all. Therefore, this is a pointless defence.”
The expert added that, speaking of Poland, it is not a defence, “They [Poles] are carrying out preparatory actions for some offensive actions. Differently speaking, they are preparing a bridgehead, a base for themselves near the border in order to attack us if anything happens. At the same time, we – as our President repeats – are always ready to discuss security issues and co-operation, especially with our neighbours. So far, we see no readiness of the kind on the other side. Their actions are aimed at mobilising their electorate, at knocking money out of NATO and the United States. All this works because it is supported by the Western world, NATO, and American infrastructure. However, if another logic – dealing with the reduction of confrontation with Ukraine – joins, then I think only in this case something can change. We should carefully monitor these preparations, understand what consequences they may entail for us, and get ready for a possible response to these actions. In short, we should not follow their example (I mean, not to demonstrate aggressiveness), but have the means and opportunity to respond, understanding what the result of their actions may be,” Mr. Dzermant concluded.
