Poland to Ask Biden for ‘Military Aid’ Amid Threats from Russia

President Duda plans to request additional troop deployment, etc. during the meeting at the White House.

Bloomberg reported on the 12th (local time) that Poland is planning to request an expansion of military support from U.S. President Joe Biden due to fears of Russian threats.

According to a source well-informed about the matter, Polish President Andrzej Duda plans to make this request during a meeting with President Biden at the White House. The specific requests include additional troop deployment, expedited delivery of military equipment, and increased sales of advanced weapons.

President Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland, who are political rivals, will attend the meeting side by side.

Bloomberg reported that although President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk have clashed over issues such as public media reform and ensuring judicial independence, they agree on defense matters.

The report comes as Poland focuses on strengthening its defense capabilities amid heightened threats from Russia targeting Europe.

Poland, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary of NATO membership this year, plans to spend 4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense this year, the highest among NATO member countries. NATO member countries aim to spend 2% of GDP on defense, but many fail to reach this target.

The previous day, President Duda announced that he would propose increasing NATO member countries’ defense spending to 3% during his meeting with President Biden.

Last year, the US approved the sale of $12 billion worth of Apache helicopters and related equipment, along with $10 billion worth of weapons including 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to Poland.

Poland, which borders Ukraine, has been exposed to direct and indirect damage since the outbreak of the Russian invasion in 2022. In particular, there are also concerns that NATO, a collective defense system, could be directly involved in the war if Poland, which is at the forefront of NATO, is attacked by Russia.