Poland ready to train 30,000 Ukrainian forces - Blaszczak

Warsaw is ready to train up to 30,000 Ukrainian servicemen.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak said this during a press conference in Brussels after the meeting of EU defense ministers, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.

"We are ready to train 30,000 soldiers, this process is going really well," Błaszczak said.

According to him, European institutions assessed positively the prospects of training the Ukrainian military in Poland.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Poland also said that in Brussels, he discussed with the German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius the creation of a hub for the repair and maintenance of tanks manned in Ukraine. According to him, there are "certain challenges" in this context, but he is convinced that they will be successfully tackled. Błaszczak also said that soon Pistorius will visit Poland, so the parties will have the opportunity to discuss the details of establishing the said hub.

Blaszczak also reported that in Brussels, he discussed the issue of ammunition production at Polish defense enterprises with the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. Błaszczak noted that there is an assurance from Breton that "in a very short period of time" the process of additional production of ammunition for the Ukrainian Army will be put into effect, in particular at the Polish enterprise Dezamet SA.

According to him, the European Commission has the appropriate funds to invest in the expansion of the production capacities of defense enterprises.

As reported, in late March, European Commissioner Thierry Breton visited a number of EU countries, in particular Poland, studying the capabilities of defense enterprises to increase the production capacity of ammunition for the Ukrainian Army.

On March 20, the foreign affairs and defense ministers of the European Union member states agreed on a plan for the joint purchase of ammunition, which provides for the supply of 1 million rounds to Ukraine until year-end.

Photo: PAP/Marcin Obar