Podlasie. The head of the Ministry of National Defense met with soldiers in Podlasie. “Poland is safer today”

On Monday afternoon, Kosiniak-Kamysz met in Zielona, ​​Podlasie, with soldiers from the “Safe Podlasie” group. The operation with this codename has been operating since August 1 and its task is to help the Border Guard maintain the tightness of the Polish border.

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– Podlasie is safer, Poland is safer, we have fixed many things, we have improved many things – said Kosiniak-Kamysz after the meeting, summarizing the activities undertaken so far in a conversation with journalists.

Emphasizing what has been achieved so far, he noted, among others: to modernize the dam on the Polish-Belarusian border. This concerns investments carried out by the Border Guard consisting in the installation of additional transverse spans and concertina coils on the dam. He emphasized that thanks to “sealing this fence, it has become a real barrier today.”

The head of the Ministry of National Defense also talked about the cooperation of the army with the police and the Border Guard, thanks to which – as he said – it was possible to transfer appropriate forces and resources to the border. He added that good cooperation with Ministry of Interior and Administration facilitated communication, exchange of activities and – as he emphasized – “complementing each other, not competing”.

Kosiniak-Kamysz also mentioned the “Szpej” operation launched in Podlasie. He said that this concerns the replacement of uniforms, the purchase of down jackets and raincoats for the first time, as well as the possibility for soldiers to use more comfortable shoes. He also mentioned access to medical care.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense assessed that the introduction of one tactical formation and a change in organization, i.e. Operation Safe Podlasie, brings results. Currently, 6,300 soldiers are delegated to the border. – It changed the functioning and quality in general – said Kosiniak-Kamysz, thanking Major General Arkadiusz Szkutnik, who is currently commanding this operation, for introducing the changes.

The changes at the border included, among others, the following: new containers and tents, organization of the social zone, as well as the introduction of containers on the border “strip” and the replacement of guard booths at the border. He also talked about good cooperation with the Białowieża National Park, local communities, forest guards and hunters.

– Security is our absolute priority, protecting the border is our right and duty: our land, our rights and we will respect it very strongly – he emphasized.

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He also mentioned the East Shield, which – as he said – is the preparation of infrastructure for border protection.

Kosiniak-Kamysz, speaking about changing the functioning of the safe border, also said about the introduction of a buffer zone at the Polish-Belarusian border. He estimated that “it had a huge impact on what it looks like today.”

The buffer zone has been operating since June 13 along approximately 60 km of the border with Belarus in Hajnówka district. It was introduced on the basis of a regulation of the Ministry of Interior and Administration – first for 90 days, then extended, and from December 10 it is valid for another 90 days. For more than 40 km you are not allowed to stay in a 200 m wide strip from the border line, for 16 km the strip is about 2 km wide. According to the services, thanks to this zone the number of attempts to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border has decreased by approximately 41%.

When asked about plans for next year, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that until the end of January, the mission under the “Safe Podlasie” operation will be performed by the 18th Mechanized Division, then the 16th Division, and after it – the 12th Division. He pointed out that thanks to experience, the army knows what equipment and skills to equip the soldiers stationed here. He mentioned that his special skill was using smoothbore weapons with non-penetrating ammunition. – She's a good police officer. Such incidents occur here when there is a crowd pressing on the Polish border, then this weapon works best – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

In reference to this, Kosiniak-Kamysz recalled the act signed in August by the President of the Republic of Poland allowing soldiers to use weapons “in the face of a threat to the border or their lives.” – Then it was written that I was introducing a license to kill, that bullets would simply whistle here from dawn to dusk – nothing could be further from the truth. This gave the soldier greater confidence, and the point is not that he abuses the weapon because the places and rules for using the weapon are specified. And it worked, said the Deputy Prime Minister.

This concerns the Act of July 26 amending certain acts in order to improve the activities of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the police and the Border Guard in the event of a threat to state security. The so-called provisions the Act on Support for the Activities of Soldiers and Officers provides for the possibility of using the army for independent actions – not only to support the services of the Ministry of Interior and Administration – during peacetime in the territory of the country; introduce the concept of a military operation conducted in the country during peacetime. They also provide legal assistance to soldiers and service officers in the event of proceedings related to their use of weapons; they also regulate, among others, rules for detaining soldiers by the Military Police.

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The Act also introduces a provision into the Penal Code that excludes liability for acts committed under certain conditions. This concerns the use of weapons or means of direct coercion by a soldier or officer defending the border in violation of the rules, if they were used, among others, in order to repel a direct attack on the life, health or freedom of that soldier or another person, as well as to counteract activities aimed at attacking the life, health or freedom of that soldier or another person. The condition for recognizing that such an action by a soldier or officer is not a crime are the circumstances requiring immediate action.

Kosiniak-Kamysz thanked all soldiers for their service on Monday. He announced that on Monday he would visit soldiers in Jaryłówka on the Polish-Belarusian border, as well as at posts near the border. As he emphasized, “this is a key place for the security of the Polish state and the security of Europe.”