“The ongoing Russian invasion on sovereign Ukraine shattered our convictions that the horror of full-scale war in Europe belonged to the past. This unprovoked attack, facilitated by Belarus, has confirmed Russia’s readiness to purse its neo-imperial ambitions through military means. Moreover, it has also shown that Kremlin is ready to undertake the risk of military actions which are potentially costly also for Russia. All of that combined gives us a grim picture of the Russian leadership which will stop at nothing but to achieve its delusional objectives, even at the expense of its own people and regardless of the inevitable international isolation, consequently making Russia and its president Vladimir Putin an international pariahs” - said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence during the opening of NATO Resilience Symposium 2022.

Between 1 and 27 May the exercises DEFENDER EUROPE 2022 (DE22) and SWIFT RESPONSE 2022 (SR22) with participation of Polish soldiers will be conducted on the territory of Poland and 8 other countries. There will be approximately 18 000 participants from over 20 countries training together in both exercises. The portion of the exercises on Polish soil will see some 7 000 troops and 3 000 pieces of equipment.

"We have been cooperating very closely for years. This cooperation is focused on building the defence capabilities of our countries. We cooperate both in the North Atlantic Alliance and in the European Union. We are neighbors, we have a lot in common, we are trying to use this situation to further tighten relations. We are focused primarily on matters related to security "- said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence after a meeting with the head of the Slovak Ministry of Defence.

„Establishment of Ukraine Defense Consultative Group is a very important initiative, because it allows for better coordination aid for Ukraine. During the conference, many countries indicated Poland as the country that has been vastly commited to helping Ukraine from the very beginning. Coordination of aid in that way will be more beneficial to Ukraine. We will be able to respond to specific needs that are currently being formulated by the Ukrainian side” - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence in Ramstein.

“In the aftermath of the talks to Secretary of Defence L. Austin, I spoke with the management of arms companies. We will soon start to submit inquiries related to the purchase of the modern weapons in order to equip the Polish Army. (…) These are new orders, but at the moment I will not discuss their scale. It will be significantly greater than the orders placed previously” - said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence after talks with the management of American arms companies.

We talked about the challenges NATO is facing, about support for Ukraine, but also about what the Polish government is planning and about the plans it is already implementing, which are related to a surge in the Poland's defence capabilities. I heard from the Secretary of Defence L. Austin a declaration of support for these activities, and they are related to equipping the Polish Army with modern equipment - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence after the meeting with Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin.

“It is a very important day in the history of Polish-American cooperation, but also a very important day when it comes to the history of the Polish Armed Forces. An agreement has just been signed, that guarantees the delivery of 250 Abrams tanks in the most modern version for the Polish Army. In July last year, together with Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, here at the headquarters of the 1st Armoured Tadeusz Kościuszko Brigade, a hero of two nations - Polish and American, we announced the decision of the Polish government to purchase Abrams tanks. Today we signed the agreement, so we have finalized that decision” - said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Minister of National Defence.

“Exercises within the eFP improve the skills of cooperation between the Polish Army and allied forces. The task that the commanders set for the soldiers during the exercise is primarily to improve the skills of cooperation, so this is what is called interoperability in NATO terminology. The point is that, in an emergency, the enhanced allied forces could work together very smoothly to ensure security and to deter the aggressor. To prove that the soldiers of the allied forces are well-coordinated and have high skills that they can cooperate with each other. This is the key to ensuring the security of our homeland” - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence during a meeting with soldiers participating in the Bull Run-18 exercise.

“The session on the Strategic Compass has ended. The document was approved by the European Union's foreign and defence ministers. The document is different from the project we discussed earlier. This is a change in the right direction because the threats have been eliminated. The risk of the European Union competing with NATO in security matters has been reduced. We wanted both institutions to cooperate and complement each other. That there would be no rivalry between them and in our opinion we have achieved success” - said Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of National Defence after the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

“We can count on the United Kingdom.Then, when Poland was attacked by the Belarusian regime, when hybrid attacks were conducted on the Polish border, it was then that I spoke to Ben Wallace, who offered support by deployment of soldiers from the British engineering troops. The soldiers came to Poland in a very short time and to this day they serve on the Polish-Belarusian border supporting Polish soldiers. Thank you very much for that ” - said Minister Mariusz Błaszczak after the talks with the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence , Ben Wallace, were concluded.