How the Poland and Ukraine Became Europe’s Defensive Backbone

As uncertainty hangs over US-Russian and US-Ukrainian brokering for Ukraine’s future, the fundamental, often overlooked underpinning for European security in the heart of Europe – the Poland-Ukraine bridge for stability – remains essential.

During just these past ten days, grave US presidential statements have likely accelerated uprooting its 75-year security and military commitment to Europe. Such dire warnings caused Poland to try securing American reassurance for maintaining US forces on Polish territory, projected doubling the size of Poland’s armed forces to become NATO’s second largest, and galvanized Warsaw to increase its mobilization of key European nation nuclear security guarantees.

These dramatic moments rapidly began transforming the transatlantic link’s longevity in real time, underscoring now, more than ever, Poland’s role as frontline anchor for the NATO Alliance – via its crucial heart of Europe, three decade Polish-Ukrainian partnership.

Poland and Ukraine: A Vital Partnership

The race by European nations to develop their security more independently from the US, especially given Washington’s declining reinforcement of NATO, challenges both the Alliance’s fortitude toward Ukraine’s defense and NATO’s very durability. As a result, Poland’s pivotal role defines the Warsaw-Kyiv bulwark against Russia’s existential threats to Europe, marked by the Warsaw- Kyiv critical juncture after Russia’s February 24, 2022 full-scale invasion across Ukraine. This paramount partnership rests on Poland’s long-time advocacy for Ukraine’s NATO and European integration. And, with Poland’s integral support, Ukraine’s already achieved significant NATO defense and military integration standards from its far-reaching war-time experiences – even without formal NATO membership.

Yet, European security and transatlantic relations stand at a crossroads as the longest, bloodiest, and unrelenting post-World War II destruction in Europe rages in Ukraine. For, as Poland and Ukraine determine, they can stem Moscow’s decade-plus invasions to destroy Ukraine by converting their 30-year partnership into an alliance for mutual security, sovereignty, and survivability, within this briskly evolving European security system. Thus, as Europe’s security independence conceivably emerges, the Poland-Ukraine bridge might better help stabilize Ukraine and better backstop European security.

Recall that Poland became the first nation to recognize Ukraine’s 1991 independence, negotiated Polish-Ukrainian cooperation treaties during the 1990s, and hosted Ukrainian military forces on Polish territory, alongside NATO nation militaries, like the US and Germany for the first time since World War II, in NATO’s first Partnership for Peace exercise in 1994. Ever since, this Poland-Ukraine bridge kept integrating Ukraine westward.

Consequently, Poland and Ukraine’s leaderships and their widening defense and security ties provide European security’s vanguard against Russia’s widening geopolitical threats, particularly with America’s vacillating European allegiance. Clearly, Poland faces some stark, exceptional geostrategic realities with its borders on Ukraine, Lithuania, Czechia, Slovakia, Belarus, and Kaliningrad – the latter Russian territory cut-off from itself.

Therefore, the imperatives to bolster NATO nations rely on advancing and calibrating Poland-Ukraine defenses, especially as a possible new Poland-Germany bridge arises to benefit Northern, Western, and Southern Europe. Such regional cooperative bonds may materialize from Germany’s recent elections, potentially accelerated by French and British security initiatives across Europe, including a new nuclear security umbrella. At these roots lie the historic post-World War II Franco-German and post-Cold War Polish-German reconciliations.

Such historic reconciliation enabled generations of European leaders and their societies to build greater stability politically, economically, and militarily—an important baseline to enlarge European defense and security to buttress NATO and the European Union.

An Alliance Like No Other in Europe

Significantly, then, the Poland-Ukraine alliance enhances European safeguarding, fortifying Europe’s stability by:

-Inviting US forces to augment Poland’s Armed Forces in the weeks before and just after Russia’s full-scale invasion across Ukraine, more effectively sustaining one of the largest, fastest waves of refugees across borders historically – without Poland constructing refugee camps, but integrating Ukrainians into Polish society;

-Providing more military equipment and weapons than any NATO nation in the early aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion, inclusive today: mobile anti-aircraft and long-range missile systems; loitering attack drones; self-propelled howitzers and mortars, Leopard, T-72, and PT-91 tanks; MiG-29 fighter aircraft; Mi-24 helicopters; BWP-1 transporters and self-propelled, multi-propelled Grad rocket launchers; armored vehicles; grenade launchers; rifles (thousands);

-Establishing on Polish territory NATO’s biggest, longest standing unit in Central and Eastern Europe – the Joint Force Support Centre, vital to integrated Alliance command and control;

-Constructing/expanding the Polish Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport and its Eastern region for the key military transport hub and indispensable resupply route for Poland and NATO nations to transfer Western battlefield material to Ukraine;

-Creating/boosting Poland’s air defense system, integrating Europe/NATO air and missile defense across the Euro-Atlantic continent;

-Investing the highest percentage of GDP spending on defense toward NATO with nearly 50 military assistance/training packages supporting Ukraine, the biggest GDP percentage by any NATO nation;

-Implementing the decisive Poland-Ukraine Security Agreement that, among many Ukraine focused NATO integration efforts, consolidates their shared Eastern border, continuously equipping Ukraine with tanks, armored fighting vehicles; fighter jets and combat helicopters; man-portable air and air-defense missile systems; unmanned aerial vehicles and loitering munitions; artillery systems; large and small caliber ammunition; cyber technologies; medical, fire protection and soldier’s personal protection equipment.

What Does the Future Hold? 

Subsequently, Poland’s historic juncture for Ukraine’s NATO and European integration represents the bedrock Ukraine needs to bridge the European military divide. As Poland’s returning Prime Minister, Donald Tusk in early 2024, underlined in his first visit to Ukraine: “NATO would obviously be much stronger if Ukraine became a member of NATO…We in Poland know well that Poland’s security depends directly on how the Russian-Ukrainian war will turn out…We Poles know perfectly well what Russian aggression means.”

However grim the ambiguities plaguing European and transatlantic security, Poland and Ukraine stand together in their mutual security, stability, sovereignty, and survival. However the US and Europeans find better common ground to reduce US-Allied friction, the Poland-Ukraine bridge continues enlarging Europe’s stability. For as the EU’s 27 nation European Council underscored on 6 March, “…there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine; there can be no negotiations that affect European security without Europe’s involvement.”

The Poland- Ukraine bridge, hence, remains vital to shifting European security and adjusting to revolutionizing transatlantic ties.

About the Author: Joshua B. Spero 

Dr. Joshua B. Spero (@JBSpero) is an International Relations Professor at Fitchburg State University (Fitchburg, MA). He served as a US Government Strategic/Scenario Planner in the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s J5 Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy, European-NATO Division, from 1994-to 2000.