Poland is planning to overhaul its military structure, including potentially shifting thousands of troops to its eastern regions. The country's defense minister cites a need for reform in light of the Ukraine conflict, reports GHN based on DW.
Most of Poland's army is based along its western border, a throwback to the country's past as a member of the Soviet bloc, but its defense minister Tomasz Siemoniak has signaled a shift eastwards - closer to its borders with Ukraine and Russia.
"The geopolitical situation has changed. We have the biggest crisis of security since the Cold War and we must draw conclusions from that," Siemoniak told the Associated Press news agency, outlining plans to increase the usage of at least three military bases in the country's east from the current 30 percent of capacity to up to 90 percent before the end of 2017.
He added that up to 400 jobs would be filled in the air defense unit located in Siedlce, along with investment in the eastern bases' infrastructure.
In total, the moves could mean the relocation of thousands of troops, though Siemoniak would not specify an overall figure. Poland is also intending to boost the amount it spends on its military from the current 1.95 percent of its GDP to 2 percent, starting in 2016.
Poland shares borders on its east with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, in the form of the exclave of Kaliningrad, home to Russia's Baltic fleet.