Poland refuses to train Ukrainian military in Ukraine and shoot down Russian missiles

Poland will not shoot down Russian drones or missiles over Ukraine, and it will not train Ukrainian forces on Ukrainian soil.

Source: Paweł Zalewski, Polish Deputy Minister of Defense, during a meeting of EU defence ministers, writes RMF24, as reported by European Pravda 

Details: "One of Ukraine’s expectations we do not consider in any format, namely the possibility of shooting down missiles or drones from Polish territory," Zalewski said.

He believes that "the West's radical strengthening of Ukraine's air defence should be sufficient and does not need such support from the Polish Air Force". He noted that "Ukraine should have something to defend itself with," but stressed that "NATO and the EU are not parties to the war".

Zalewski strongly opposed Ukraine’s request that NATO allies, such as Poland, shoot down Russian missiles or drones in Ukrainian airspace flying towards them. Similarly, Zalewski strongly opposed Kyiv's plan to train Ukrainian forces on Ukrainian territory.

France and a few other North European countries endorse this idea. However, it did not receive unanimous approval in the EU. First and foremost, Germany and Austria believe Russia will see this as a provocation. There are also concerns that the EU will be unable to secure the safety of European instructors in Ukraine.

Poland has joined the opponents of this concept. According to Zalewski, the current form of Ukrainian soldier training in EU nations (for example, in Poland or Germany) "is the most effective". According to him, several EU countries can also conduct training in Ukraine, but "Poland is not one of them".

Background:

• At a meeting on Friday, 30 August, defence ministers of the European Union resolved to keep the military drills for Ukrainian soldiers close to Ukrainian borders rather than moving them into Ukrainian territory.
• In October 2022, the European Union established the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) to assist in training Ukrainian soldiers.
• EUMAM training is currently taking place primarily in Poland and Germany, but according to sources, the European Union is considering transferring some of the training to Ukraine's territory.
• Previously, it was reported that the EU diplomatic service urged member countries to better tailor the Ukraine military training mission to the needs of Kyiv, but did not advocate for deploying military instructors to Ukraine.

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