Poland will receive a $2 billion defense loan from the United States

The United States of America will grant Poland a loan of two billion dollars for the modernization of the country’s defense. This was reported by the State Department on Monday. In the document, Washington calls Poland a loyal ally of the United States and highly appreciates Warsaw’s efforts both in supporting warring Ukraine and in strengthening its own defense capabilities.

On September 20, Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki stated, that Poland no longer transfers weapons to Ukraine, as it needs to focus on arming its own army. After that, the US asked the Polish leadership to clarify its position – this was reported by the Bloomberg agency, citing sources in diplomatic circles.

Already on September 21, Polish President Andrzej Duda stated in an interview with TVN24 that Morawiecki’s statement was misinterpreted. According to him, Poland will not hand over to Ukraine only new weapons that it will purchase for its army.

“I myself will be the first to speak out against the transfer of new weapons that we now receive from South Korea or the USA, for example, new Abrams tanks, Patriot or HIMARS systems,” Duda said. He emphasized that Warsaw is still transferring Krab self-propelled artillery installations, demining machines and ammunition to Kyiv.

• After the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, many NATO countries announced measures to strengthen their defense capabilities, expand and modernize their armies, and increase their defense budgets. Poland also announced its intention to sharply increase the financing of its armed forces, increase the number of personnel and modernize military equipment. In July 2022, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced plans to create “the strongest land army among European NATO countries.”
• In April 2022, Poland signed a contract with the United States for the supply of 250 Abrams tanks for $4.75 billion, and in January of this year for the purchase of additional tanks for $1.4 billion. It became the first European country to adopt Abrams. Poland also purchases weapons from other NATO states and from South Korea. At the end of August, the US government approved a deal with Poland to supply it with AH-64E Apache combat helicopters, ammunition for them and the training of Polish pilots.