Poland to Deploy Thousands of Troops Near Border with Ukraine

Poland is to implement the most significant realignment of soldiers since the Cold War, Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said.

Siemoniak has explained the maneuver with the situation in neighboring Ukraine and the threats posed by changes in the geopolitical situation, German broadcaster ARD reports.

He added Poland "must draw conclusions" from the biggest security crisis since the Cold War ended.

By 2017, at least three military bases in Poland's east will have their military personnel strengthened to nearly 90 percent of their capacity, up from the present 30 percent.

Siemoniak added that until now most of Poland's 120 000 soldiers had been stationed in the west of the country, a "vestige" of the Cold War.

Warsaw is also committed to boosting defense spending to 2 percent of GDP under arrangements made among NATO members. To that end, it will add EUR 190 M to military expenditure on a yearly basis starting 2016.

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