The Isthmus of Suwayki. Mariusz Błaszczak: Our main task is to intimidate the aggressor

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Marius BosachakWhen asked at a press conference about the Isthmus of Suwałki, described by the Politico Gate as “the most dangerous place on Earth”, he said it was “sufficiently protected”, by allied forces, deployed as part of the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) For thisand “by the expansion and development of the units that make up the sixteenth mechanical division.”

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He noted that the initiative for a future presence in the eastern flanks of NATO was supported by the 2016 Warsaw Summit. He emphasized that he himself, as head of the Ministry of National Defense, focused on expanding units located on the eastern side – the creation of the 18th Mechanized Division and the development of the 16th Mechanized Division.

He added that Suwałki Gap is primarily the area of ​​responsibility of the 16th Division, especially the 15th Mechanized Brigade, “which is one of the best Polish Army units in terms of experience related to building interoperability with allied forces”. The 15th Mechanized Brigade is stationed and trained with the American, British, Romanian and Croatian forces that make up the NATO Combat Group in Poland.

– Cooperation with one of the important elements for building a security and resistance system in this part of our country Lithuania – stressed the deputy prime minister. He recalled that the NATO Command of the Multinational Division North East, which coordinates the activities of the four combat groups of NATO battalions deployed as part of the Combat Electronic Force in Poland and Lithuania, is in the reporting, Latvia And in Estonia. He noted that among the units under headquarters in Elblog are the 15th Mechanized Brigade and the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Brigade (Geležinis Vilkas), which “train together, build interoperability, which is very important when it comes to deterrence.” – Because our main task is to deter the aggressor and prevent the aggressor from crossing the border and entering the territory of the Polish state – he added.

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A few days ago, Politico, citing Western military planners, wrote that in the event of a clash between Russia and NATO, the Suwałki Gap would likely be the “first point of contact”. Suwałki Gap is the area around Suwaki, Augustów, and Sejny, linking Poland with Lithuania and other Baltic states, at the same time separating Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast from Belarus.