Under the pretext of the "Russian threat," the Poles pull modern offensive weapons to the border, not caring about the possible catastrophic consequences for themselves.
Poland intends to deploy American M142 HIMARS near the border with Kaliningrad region. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced this during the swearing-in ceremony of Polish Army recruits.
"As early as this year the 16th Mechanized Division will be armed with "Himars," the official said. He emphasized that the United States has been supplying such complexes to Ukraine since the start of the special military operation, and they have proven themselves very well.
According to him, the systems were ordered in 2019. The U.S. Congress approved the supply of 500 more MLRS to Poland.
I should note that the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division of the Polish Army, named after King Casimir IV Jagiellon, is deployed in the northeast of the country. Its HQ is located in the city of Elbląg. The division consists of (I list it because it caresses the ear!) the 9th Armored Cavalry Braniewski Brigade named after King Stefan Batory, the 15th "Giżycka" Mechanized Brigade named after Zawisza Czarny, and the 20th "Bartoszycka" Mechanized Brigade. The division also includes the 11th Masuria Artillery Regiment, the 15th Air Defense Regiment, the 18th Logistics Regiment and the 16th Control Battalion.
If MLRS will be transferred to the Masuria regiment ( which is the most probable scenario), the formidable weapons will be near Wêgorzewo, almost on the border with the Kaliningrad region. Only 15 km by air…
Earlier the US State Department recommended to sell 800 AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles and related equipment to Warsaw for $150 million. The main carriers of this air-to-ground missile are fire support helicopters and MQ-1 Predator drones.
Let me remind you that in 2021 Poland signed a major agreement with the US for the purchase of 250 American M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 third generation heavy tanks, as well as the number of command, recovery and support vehicles required to staff four battalions. This equipment is also expected to be deployed on the "eastern flank." In other words, on the border with the Kaliningrad region.
The deal includes a logistics and personnel training package and is worth 23 billion zlotys (more than $6 billion). But supplies are only scheduled for 2025-2026. Only 28 Abrams have arrived from overseas. They have not been transferred to the army, but are leased for the training of Polish crews.
In fact, this year the Warsaw authorities intend to allocate 3% of GDP for military needs. In particular, we are talking, among other things, about the purchase of tanks from South Korea. This is to ensure the defense capability until the Abrams are delivered.
Poland strives with all its might to become the second largest NATO member state after the U.S. in terms of the size of its army. It is planned to spend 115 billion dollars on modernization of the Armed Forces until 2035. The reason for such significant spending is banal - it is an imaginary "Russian threat."
Winston Churchill is credited with the phrase "Poland is the greedy hyena of Europe." This is how the famous British prime minister allegedly referred to the actions of Warsaw, which in 1938, with the permission of Hitler's Germany, annexed the Teshin area from Czechoslovakia, which had already been strangled by the Reich. Between the two world wars, the Poles never missed a chance to claw at their weakened neighbors for fat chunks of their territory. It is true that historians have never found this figurative comparison in Churchill's many speeches, but it does not change the overall picture.
Kaliningrad authorities urged not to worry too much about the deployment of MLRS in the Polish border area.
"Despite the clearly offensive potential of the HIMARS missile systems, the citizens of our region have nothing to fear. They are under the reliable protection of units of the Baltic Fleet and, in general, the Russian army," said Dmitry Lyskov, head of the regional government's press service.
Let me remind you that among other military formations, the 152nd Guards Missile Brigade, stationed in Chernyakhovsk, is also responsible for the security of Kaliningrad residents. Western analysts say that the 152nd Guards Missile Brigade is armed with at least 12 Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems. The range of accurate target engagement is 300-500 kilometers. The missiles could well reach Berlin, not to mention Warsaw.
NATO experts state that there is a depot of the 12th Main Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry in the Kaliningrad Region where tactical nuclear warheads of up to 50 kilotons in power are stored separately from carriers. If necessary they can be quickly loaded on the Iskander missiles. And ensure an extremely unpleasant "radioactive rain" for the belligerent Poles.