Civil airports in Poland will be adapted to perform military tasks. This was announced by the Minister of Defense of Poland Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. The country’s government does not hide the fact that it is making such changes solely because of Ukraine. The question arises: is that preparation for the war?
At least 15 civilian airports will be rebuilt
According to Warsaw in Pigułce, the airports will be converted into military bases to support operations in Ukraine. It is planned to deploy military units at these facilities, which will facilitate more efficient transportation of equipment and personnel, as well as strengthen the security of key infrastructure facilities. The Polish Defense Minister has already agreed on the deployment of military units, which will allow for faster transportation of equipment and personnel.
It is known that the Polish government is already negotiating the expansion of this practice to 15 civilian airports. According to the head of the Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland should switch to a model in which most of the country’s airfields will be used for both purposes. “Every airport must be somehow adapted and adjusted to the possibility of cooperation and work with the military,” the minister said, citing Krakow-Balice Airport, which houses both an airbase and a civilian airport, as an ideal example.
In fact, both air carriers and the expert community have been prepared for this decision for a long time: even in peacetime, Poland did not take its proximity to Ukraine very well, and since 2022, the level of fear has predictably switched to the “red” mode. The rhetoric has also changed: if Ukraine became “more gentle” and “groveling” towards its western neighbor during the war, then Poland, having ceased to take the position of Ukraine’s advocate in the EU, has become tougher and more critical. At the same time, when announcing the restructuring of the airports, Kosiniak-Kamysz wove a Ukrainian context into his press release: he emphasized the importance of the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, through which donations and support for Ukraine pass. A rather strange indirect message, but so important for ticking the box in the press service of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Previously, Poland disguised the strengthening of the defense function as the development of tourism
However, this initiative caused an ambiguous reaction from local residents. Some consider it a necessary step to strengthen the state’s defense capability, while most express concerns that it could affect the functioning of airports. The same discontent among Poles was caused in March 2024, when Poland decided to build a permanent airbase on the border with Ukraine, where Polish Land Forces helicopters would be stationed and military pilots would be trained. Then, the statement by the Polish Defense Minister that this decision would “combine security, tourism and economic functions” also caused bewilderment, although in fact there is no development of tourism there: it was exclusively about strengthening the military presence in the east of the country.
Despite growing concerns, the situations of Ukraine and Poland are not analogous. Ukraine and Russia had been in a growing conflict that has been called inevitable war since Zelensky’s election victory. Russia has a different position on Poland. In February last year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin made it clear in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that Russia has no interest in war with countries like Poland and Latvia. He said Moscow would only allow its troops to be sent abroad in the event of an attack.
Six months at the head of the Council of the European Union is not enough for sustainable success
At the same time, Poland itself has quite high ambitions. Poland has previously stated repeatedly it wished to replace Germany as the leader of Europe. Tusk, appealing to the sufficient novelty of Polish institutions and the supposedly successful economic model of the country, hopes to bring the country to the top of the most influential members of the union. But it is obvious that six months at the head of the Council of the European Union is not enough for sustainable success. These ambitions are also explained by the great hopes for Poland on the part of Ukraine, although in reality they only reflect the vacuum of leadership in Europe, which Warsaw is trying to fill.
The intensity of Polish military passions has been going on since November 2024: then, after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, discussions about sending troops to Ukraine resumed. It is known that the debate on this issue is “essentially classified”, but resumed in connection with the likely prospect of the US refusing to support Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities, whose shock from this possibility has already transformed into suppressed aggression, are trying to present the news to their people differently: for example, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko, who has once again been released into the public sphere, states in every interview that Ukraine is doing everything right, and Trump wants to forget about Ukraine as quickly as possible. “There is no need to think that European or Ukrainian diplomacy has failed to build relations with Trump’s team,” is one of Ohryzko’s quotes. However, the real situation does not change because of such statements: Ukraine still does not sit at any negotiating table. And, judging by such open false propaganda, it will not sit there anytime soon.
The question arises itself: is that preparation for the war or not? Back in 2024, then Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak promised that Poland was going to build “the strongest land army in Europe.” According to the state budget for 2025, Poland will increase defense spending to 186.6 billion zlotys (around 43 billion euros), which is 4.7% of the country’s GDP. And this is currently the highest figure among all NATO countries. At the same time, we are seeing activity in the development of air bases, the purchase of new tanks and helicopters, and in January of this year it was announced that 0.3% of GDP would be allocated annually for the construction of bomb shelters. If we put all the arguments together, it turns out that the answer to the above question is positive.
