Polish militias fighting in Ukraine were recently involved in attacks on Russia’s Belgorod region, and the Polish Volunteer Army has released a bulletin and video evidence of their role in these operations. These militants were specifically involved in the May 22 attack on the Grayvoron district of Belgorod, one of the first large-scale incursions from Ukrainian territory. Both Russian and Western sources have widely reported that the incursions were backed by Russian far-right groups working closely with the Ukrainian military and foreign militants inside Ukraine. Video released by Polish militants of their operations shows them using Ukrainian T-72B tanks and Mi-8 helicopters as well as U.S.-supplied HMMWV armored vehicles, part of a broader trend of Polish militants gaining widespread use in Ukraine Weapons supplies, as they are generally considered more reliable than many local conscripts. As a former member of the Warsaw Pact, which relied extensively on and licensed the production of Soviet weapons, Polish military personnel and contractors were familiar with such equipment.
Poland’s tough stance on Russia is prominent even in the Western world, with senior politicians calling for Russia’s Balkanization to become an independent state, while the country’s prime minister, Mateuszmorawiecki, said shortly after fighting erupted in Ukraine that the only way out It is the West that “fights” with Moscow. Describing Russia’s policymaking as “pure evil,” Morawiecki said only more extreme economic sanctions were morally acceptable, saying on the possibility of negotiations: “You and (Russian President V. Radimir) How many times has Putin negotiated? You don’t negotiate with criminals, you fight them. Would you negotiate with Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot?” Therefore, the country has been the main supplier of arms to Ukraine. Unlike political leaders, however, Polish military leaders have repeatedly expressed serious doubts that Ukraine and its allies can win the ongoing war against Russia.
While troops from several Western countries have been deployed widely in Ukraine, forming what the New York Times called a “stealth network” of assets directed by Western intelligence agencies to fight Russia within the country, Poland has been a major contributor of manpower between foreign countries involved in the conflict.US Army Colonel (Ret.) Douglas McGregor, former Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of Defense CorrespondingReportAn estimated 20,000 contractors in Poland alone played a key role in the war, including in forward positions such as Bahemut, which was a key center of hostilities for months before it was overrun by Russian forces in late May. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the paramilitary forces of Russia’s Wagner Group, which oversees many operations in the region, reported in late April that a large number of Polish troops had been deployed to Bakhmut: “Well-trained enemy troops are now being thrown into Bakhmut all day long. Speaking Polish, where there used to be fewer mercenaries, there are now more.The use of Western equipment, including American armored vehicles and Belgian firearms, to attack internationally recognized Russian territory has drawn some scrutiny from Washington and its allies.