“Ukraine was even less prepared.” Gen. Roman Polko comments on reports about the Polish army

A recent report by "Rzeczpospolita" indicates that Poland's army is significantly underprepared for a potential conflict with Russia. The publication claims that in the event of an attack, only two of Poland's six theoretically existing army divisions would be combat-ready from the outset. The 16th and 18th mechanized divisions, while designated for immediate deployment, are reportedly still in the process of forming all their necessary units.

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Ukraine was even less prepared for war, because it was actually just training while fighting and building its own army.

Further complicating matters, the 1st Legions Infantry Division and the 8th Home Army Infantry Division are in the formation stage. The 11th and 12th divisions are only partially staffed, meaning their units would require substantial personnel replenishment before engaging in combat. The report suggests these divisions could need anywhere from ten days to a month to become fully operational, potentially delaying Poland's full defensive capability.

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I can say that all these voices saying we would lose in two days, that we can't manage, that the divisions are incomplete, really irritate me. Maybe not, maybe there are many deficits, but truly this soldierly spirit in Poles is strong.

General Roman Polko, a former commander of the GROM special forces unit, addressed these concerns on Radio Zet. He drew a comparison to Ukraine's situation at the start of the conflict, noting that Ukraine was even less prepared initially, having to build its army while fighting. Polko acknowledged that Poland's military may have numerous deficiencies but stressed the inherent strong "soldierly spirit" within Poles. He expressed frustration with voices predicting a swift defeat, asserting that morale and the will to fight are crucial, even with limited equipment, citing his own experiences in combat zones.

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Unfortunately, civil protection, civil defense has been neglected for decades. We need to work hard on this.

Polko also criticized the government's approach to civil defense, calling it neglected over recent decades and urging significant improvements. He suggested that the current Minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, is spreading efforts too thinly and questioned the deployment of soldiers for tasks like flood cleanup, referencing "Operation Phoenix." The general also deemed the allocation of 10,000 soldiers to certain unspecified tasks as absurd.

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Sorry, but the army is not for cleaning up flood mud, see Operation Phoenix.