Results of President Zelenskyy's visit to Poland. Military expert Serhiy Zgurets

Cooperation between Poland and Ukraine

Poland is Ukraine's long-standing partner in military-technical cooperation. Today, on April 5, during the visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Poland, the prospects for new projects between Ukraine and Poland were announced in addition to the contracts that have already been concluded and implemented. In total, Poland has already supplied Ukraine with about $2 billion worth of weapons, including tanks, aircraft, and air defense systems.

New initiatives between Ukraine and Poland have now been announced. It was mentioned that a contract was being signed to supply 100 Rosomak armored personnel carriers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. These APCs will be financed by American and European aid. Among these APCs will be Rak self-propelled mortars, which are based on the Rosomak chassis. The mortars are mobile and are essential for solving problems on the battlefield.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also mentioned that they would also discuss air defense projects. We know that Poland has so far supplied Ukraine with a significant number of Piorun MANPADS, which are more effective than Stinger. We have also received Osa systems and S-125 air defense systems, which were previously used by the Polish army. Now we are probably talking about new models of SAMs, which we do not know about yet, but we understand that this will be a really effective contract.

It was also said that Ukraine and Poland should create joint ventures for the production of weapons. By the way, such projects are already being implemented. In particular, on Espreso TV channel, we recently showed a story about the Oncilla armored personnel carrier, which is supplied to the Ukrainian army and manufactured at the Polish company Mista.

The visit of the Ukrainian President to Poland was the impetus for the activation of a number of defense-industrial projects that are essential for the Armed Forces.

Dariusz Materniak, Head of the Center for Polish-Ukrainian Studies, commented on the security prospects of cooperation between Poland and Ukraine. From what we heard today during the visit of the Ukrainian President to Poland, a lot is already happening. First of all, it is the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft, some of which Poland has already provided to Ukraine. The newest thing that was said is ammunition for 125 mm tanks, and the most important thing is that Poland is to provide Ukraine with 100 Rosomak armored personnel carriers. In addition, 24 more Rak mobile mortars based on this APC. On the one hand, such assistance is important for Ukraine because it is a reinforcement of the Armed Forces in the war, and on the other hand, these steps are important for Poland for two reasons. Firstly, it is an order for the Polish defense industry, and secondly, it is an opportunity to test weapons in real combat, if we are talking about Rak mortars. And there is probably one more important point: every strengthening of Ukraine's defense capabilities has a positive impact on Poland's security.

The head of the Center for Polish-Ukrainian Studies noted that the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus does not cause panic in Poland, as they have seen many similar attempts at intimidation by Russia. That is, nothing new has happened. It is clear that the Russian infrastructure has the ability to move nuclear weapons either to the Kaliningrad region or to Belarus. As for Belarus, we know what Lukashenko and his government's position and plans are. For almost two years now, Poland has been facing a crisis on its border with Belarus. Again, such threats and statements are not new, so this does not change anything in our position on Russia and Belarus.

The situation around Avdiivka and in Bakhmut

It is worth mentioning Bakhmut because this topic arose during the press conference of the Ukraine's President in Poland. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that if there is a significant threat to the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, a decision will be made based on the real situation. Such an optimal decision will be made by Ukrainian generals. It was noted that in the face of increased risks, the lives of  soldiers come first, and this is an important statement by the Supreme Commander.

Regarding the situation in Bakhmut, the Russian forces are trying to reach the central part of the city, and fighting continues in the city's buildings. The dynamics of the fighting has not changed for several days in a row. The logistics support of our soldiers is working quite effectively, which prevents the enemy from advancing further, and most importantly, from making an attempt to encircle Bakhmut further away from the city's buildings.

Russia is not succeeding, these attempts are unsuccessful.

The situation is the same around Avdiivka, where they tried to implement a capture model. But Ukrainian troops counterattacked in the Avdiivka area, and the enemy's advance stopped. The situation remains under control in the two hottest areas - Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

Russia is faced with a choice: to continue offensive actions, using the last of its reserves, or to switch to defense. I do not rule out that Russia will reformat its actions with a focus on defense. This is evidenced by the intensification of Russian troops' efforts to create engineering fortifications in many parts of the frontline. They are expecting Ukraine’s offensive and are trying to prepare for it.