Can Ukraine get by without Polish military aid? On Wednesday, September 20, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that his country would "no longer transfer any armaments to Ukraine" in order to concentrate on modernizing its national army. The statement has raised questions given the role Warsaw has played in supporting Kyiv's troops since the start of the conflict, which began 19 months ago when the Russian army invaded Ukraine.
According to the German think-tank Kiel Institute, which compiles the aid provided by Ukraine's allies since February 2022, Poland now ranks as its sixth-largest weapons supplier. Warsaw's military support is estimated at €3 billion, far behind the United States (€42.1 billion), Germany (€17.1 billion) and the UK (€6.6 billion) but ahead of the Netherlands (€2.5 billion), Italy (€700 million) and France (€500 million). And even this ranking is skewed by the announced supply of F-16 fighter jets by certain countries.
Poland has been one of Ukraine's biggest suppliers of armored vehicles. While it's true that most of these are Soviet-era models, they nonetheless have the advantage of not requiring specific training for Ukrainians, unlike Western equipment. This helps the Ukrainians get to grips with them more quickly. Per the website Oryx, which tracks global military equipment and personnel, Warsaw has delivered over 300 T-72 and PT-91 battle tanks (a modernized version of the T-72) to the Ukrainian armed forces, and supplied over 300 BWP-1 and KTO Rosomak infantry fighting vehicles. It has also given or sold around 100 self-propelled artillery, including the highly effective 155 mm AHS Krab.
Poland has also been one of the few nations to supply aircraft to its neighbor, which was in desperate need of them at the start of the conflict to challenge Russian aerial incursions in Ukrainian skies. Warsaw has delivered 14 Mig-29 combat aircraft and 12 Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters to Ukraine. Léo Péria-Peigné, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, told Le Monde that "Poland is a key player in terms of arms supplies. It has been present from the outset, sending large quantities, including ammunition and spare parts, essential to sustaining the fight."
In addition to supplying weapons, Poland has been a major player in training Ukrainian troops and NATO has conducted some of its trainings there. Since February, some 120 French instructors have been working there with the goal of training a battalion of 500 soldiers in infantry combat every five weeks. Poland has also served as the location of several maintenance centers for Western armored vehicles used by the Ukrainians at sites that have been kept secret. Neither of these activities is to be affected by the Polish decision.
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