Poland

[Ant22]

"It's not about Russia," added Frank Rose, the assistant secretary of state for arms control verification and compliance, who attended the Romanian ceremony. Rose says the alliance has "been clear for over 20 years that U.S. and NATO missile defense are not directed against Russia, nor do they have the technical capability to undermine Russia's strategic deterrence."

[quote author= Sputnik Article Below]
"During the NATO summit in Warsaw in July 2016, the allies agreed to deploy four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to counter the alleged threat of Russian aggression following the events in Ukraine."

However, as reported by Sputnik earlier this month, despite all the efforts, the number of Poles who view Russian foreign policy as a threat decreases by half. It is still high, currently at 40%, but the downward movement when the anti-Russian propaganda has not decreased in its efforts is really interesting.


https://sputniknews.com/europe/201708171056539618-poland-russia-poll/

The number of Poles who view the so-called Russian threat as a potential danger for Poland has decreased by half to 40 percent, a poll showed on Thursday.

WARSAW (Sputnik) – Three years ago the poll, conducted by the IBRiS institution for the Rzeczpospolita newspaper amid crisis in Ukraine and Crimea's reunification with Russia, showed that 83 percent of Polish citizens viewed Russia's policy as a threat.

Islamist terrorism is viewed as threat to Poland by 20 percent of respondents, while 11 percent put Germany's domination in Europe as their primary concern among the list of threats, the poll new added.

The poll was conducted on August 11-12, but the newspaper did not specify the number of respondents.

In 2014, a military conflict erupted in southeastern Ukraine amid the local population's disagreement with the new government in Kiev, which came to power as a result of what they believed was a coup. The conflict has also caused the Crimean population to decide to reunite with Russia. The media and politicians in the West have accused Russia of meddling in the crisis and viewed the reunification as an annexation.

During the NATO summit in Warsaw in July 2016, the allies agreed to deploy four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to counter the alleged threat of Russian aggression following the events in Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the West's substantiated accusations, and warned against boosting military presence near Russian borders.

 

[Ant22]

Putin stating the obvious in the following clip:

(...)

[quote author= Putin]Because to date, it is an obvious fact that any specialist would tell you: the cost of production and delivery of liquefied natural gas from the US is much higher than our LNG and is not even comparable to Russian pipeline gas. So, there is no doubt that we have an absolute competitive advantage.

[/quote]

Yeah bjorn, it's a no brainer really. Putin stated the obvious but I don't entirely trust the ruling psychopathic elite to do the obvious and make logical decisions that will benefit the people and their wallets. If they decide we are going to use American gas and pay through the nose for it - I guess that's what we are going to have to do. I'm not sure what narrative could be used to convince people that they should pay more but I may in fact find out shortly.

However, with the next economic collapse on the way and financial security being threatened, people (at least some, hopefully) may actually begin to wake up to what's being done to them instead of getting triggered by racial and gender issues brought to them by the ponerised left.

It may be just anecdotal evidence but the closest I've come to seeing people notice logical discrepancies of the system was during the most recent credit crunch. There is a book called "Democracy in America" written by Alexis de Tocqueville in the 19th century. One of the things he talked about was that when people are given enough opportunity and security to work towards improving their own standards of living on a personal level, they largely allow their governments to do whatever they want. I guess this is what has allowed the ruling elites to design the Orwellian nightmare we're now in.

However, it looks like people's living standards are about to deteriorate big time while the society is becoming more and more divided over minor issues (such as which bathroom to use based on who you identify as), blaming the other side of the PTB engineered conflict for all the evil so...pass me the popcorn ;)

 

[Ant22]

Yes, the stupidity of the Polish government is beyond the imagination, and the Polish government is also actively supporting the Ukrainian regime whose hero is Stephan Bandera, whose fraction of OUN (OUN-B) collaborated with Nazi Germans. Bandera was recruited by the Abwehra in the 1930′s for espionage, counter-espionage and sabotage (nickname Consul II). Later in 1943-44 he and his group participated in massacres in Volhynia and Galicia that resulted in death of circa 100.000 Poles.

https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/BANDERA,%20STEFAN_0018.pdf

Many politicians care nothing for ideology. They adopt them and discard them and adopt their antithesis with ease and as necessary.

I may be wrong but I think the current pro-Ukrainian stance of the Polish government may in fact be a part of the US strategy, since as a result of the US engineered coup and civil war Ukraine has joined the US puppets club. In an interview with Sputnik, a Polish politician and journalist Konrad Rekas said that:

(...) “What the government and our entire political establishment is doing is taking orders from Washington and making people believe that the Ukrainian invasion is a good thing,” Rekas told Sputnik Poland. (...)

Not to mention that the pro-Ukrainian stance isn't a full picture. There are voices of criticism coming from the government officials too:

Published in February 2017: https://sputniknews.com/europe/201702071050424819-kaczynski-poroshenko-bandera-glorification/

Former Polish President Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the influential leader of the country's ruling Law and Justice Party, has some frank advice for Kiev, telling Ukrainian officials that the country would never join Europe if it continued to try to build its national identity on the glorification of notorious Nazi-allied war criminals like Stepan Bandera.
In an interview for the news weekly magazine Do Rzeczy, excerpts from which were published by other Polish outlets on Monday, Kaczynski indicated that he had warned Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Kiev would have no place in Europe if it continued to indulge in the glorification of war criminals like Stepan Bandera, the leader of the WWII-era Ukrainian nationalist organization that collaborated with the Nazis.

Kaczynski said "for years now, we have disagreed with the construction in Ukraine of a cult to people who engaged in genocide against the Poles. They even surpassed the cruelty of the Germans, which was not easy to do."

"In short, this is a matter of choice for Ukraine," the politician emphasized. "I told President Poroshenko clearly that Ukraine wouldn't be entering Europe with Bandera. For me this is an issue that is absolutely clear," he added, "because we have demonstrated great patience. But this patience has its limits."

The rise of nationalism in Ukraine, influx of Ukrainian immigrants into Poland and Poland's own economic struggles seem to have created quite an explosive mix.

A couple of articles:

(June 2016) "Is Poland responsible for the resurgence of neo-Nazism in Ukraine?": https://www.sott.net/article/319612-Is-Poland-responsible-for-the-resurgence-of-neo-Nazism-in-Ukraine

(March 2017) "New Age of Nationalism in Ukraine Poses Threat to Its Closest Neighbors": https://sputniknews.com/europe/201703151051594171-ukraine-nationalists-vandals/

(March 2017) "‘Act of terrorism’: Polish consulate in western Ukraine comes under rocket fire" https://www.rt.com/news/382652-polish-consulate-ukraine-rocket/

(June 2017) "Ukrainian Migrants: The Time Bomb That Could Tear Poland Apart": https://sputniknews.com/europe/201706171054720796-poland-ukraine-migrants/

(July 2017) "Why Poland Deliberately Raises Tensions With Ukraine": https://sputniknews.com/europe/201707051055250115-poland-ukraine-bandera-row/

 

[Deleted member 4320]

What I am seeing, and not only me I am sure, is almost the repeat from the history. Relations with Russia, Germany, France is the worst since 1991. If the USA is going to destabilize Europe to arrive and fix things, Poland is going to play one of the main roles in it. Even if NATO will not survive and they abandon Poland, the country will stay with a hopeless situation and again work for years for the better situation with their neighbors.

 

[Michal]

Hi,
The situation is complicated me think.

If Polish governement even wanted to act openly against its Masters... or Allies, Greek example was very clearly set recently to remind all creative minds of European politics how hurtful it may be when Masters are pulling the strings.

Looks like first limitiation for this or any other governement is its debt to international institutions like IMF, World Bank, Bank of International Settlements, European Central Bank.

Cash flow for maintenance of basic functions of the state - which is basicaly all debt based. Poland is anyway in much better situation than Greece, having its own currency.

Second, brewing color revolution. Unlike Russia, Poland has still (maybe I am wrong?) all foreign NGO's and media acting in unison without any control from Polsih gov. and as is cleary visible now acting against Polish gov.

Third is military engagement in NATO, having Polish military forces involved in foreign system.

Forth? or maybe first is real support from society. But Greek example was good one to show what really democracy means without power: financial and military.

Fifth is something related to energy from point 1: resources, energy rescources: gas - obviously in case of big conflict with Russia may be cut,
Cole was limited by EU regulation to adjust all countries with 2020 clean energy agenda.
Oil - again Russia.
So in case of conflict Poland for practical reasons shall at least be neutral but this is obviously going in completely different direction. Wilingly or not.

Remember Kennedy? He was not openly declaring to the public in the beginning of his cadency to remove all forces from Vietnam or to warm up relations with Russia even thou that he was proclaiming from the early begining that he would like to act for peace. Why? Because it is not so easy to play this game looks like.

Why Trump gives way to something contradictory to his pre election rethorics? Maybe it was only rethorics :) But maybe this game mericlessly requires compromises. If one wants to openly wage war with "dark side", "dark side" will not wait and see, it will act immediately.

I am not a good chess player. Anyaway to win the game one needs to prepare the field. First the King is behind the scenes. First pawns or springer are in action. We know that we need to capture the King but we move many different pieces before we do that. One could ask: why do You attack pawns when You should attack the King? But every player knows that only complete rookie can say something like this.

Governement is obviously acting against Russia. Question is whether this was their scenario to play, like Kennedy in the begining supportign anti-sovit rethorics or this is their true party feature? I wish I could support it but this is just a thought, a possibiltiy which I do not have anything to back up.
I feel for people that they are massively indoctrinated and lied to. Many people however see politics, Russia and West from different perspective than is officialy broadcasted.
Governement is still in power probably because it is still useful for some big power but obviously their situation is far from being stable. Poland is being played but also I guess there is some kind of trade going on. We give this but You give that. ??? We give You our soldiers but You give us possibility to build army and to strenghten the power. We give You our support in Your conflict but You allow us to run our internal affairs as we wish?
How my intuition tells me (could be very wrong) is that it is possible. I also suspect that current governement which was obviously anti Soros (as Soros blessed party is the greates opponent to current gov.) is trying to change direction set by first agreements after Polsih transformation or better to say after collapse of soviet block in which Soros' NGO's, his people, his money played humongous role in all post soviet block countries. Current governement represents someting different than last 25 years different goverenements from right to left. This nationalistic and some say fasist hue is not isolated Polish fenomenon as this was going on in many countries: Hungary, Czech republic, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany - not maybe in the highest form in all of them as in Poland as having real power to form countries polices but as real social changes in peoples likes or dislikes and trends to side with forces who act to preserve, conserve, strengthen only own interests.

Yeah, a bit too long maybe. I just want to say that we are not completely free and our governements are not completely free. We have some degrees of freedom ... like pawns or like Queen but even Queen has her limitations if one wants to win the game.
Makes sense?

 

[angelburst29]

As far as imports of US LNG is concerned, the following fairly recent article (July 5, 2017) signals the main hubs for that to be the UK, Portugal and Spain:

_https://www.ft.com/content/f7ea9416-616e-11e7-8814-0ac7eb84e5f1 -- UK gets first big shipment of US liquefied natural gas

Thanks for the link Palinurus, I guess it would have been more effective if I had read up about it to get a fuller picture.

The article doesn't say how the price of the US LNG compares to other sources and according to the British Gas website

(_https://www.britishgas.co.uk/the-source/our-world-of-energy/energys-grand-journey/where-does-uk-gas-come-from), 35% of British gas comes from Russia. I do wonder how this is going to work out for the EU since it doesn't look like American LNG is going to be cheaper than Russian. I suspect that once the outcomes of all these sanctions and manipulations get delivered to people through the letterbox in a very tangible form of their gas bill people may begin to support the idea of punishing Russia at all costs a little less.

https://sputniknews.com/politics/201708231056725364-us-lng-russia-gas-eu/

I only came across one article that gives an idea of the price differences -

Neither side discloses the price, to avoid political embarrassment, but Russian gas experts have the facts

SHAKEDOWN: US Forces EU to Pay 50% More for Natural Gas vs Russia Thu, Aug 31, 2017 (Video)
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/shakedown-us-forces-eu-pay-50-more-natural-gas-vs-russia/ri20786
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FZRb2M40eg (11:33 min. - Russian with English subtitles.)

And 50% is only the cost of the gas. Add in the construction of those expensive terminals and rental of the special tankers, and it gets even worse.

Russian gas costs about $170 per 1000 cubic meters. The Americans charge about $260, or perhaps more, the price is a closely guarded secret.

This Russian news segment is fact-filled, and very interesting. Russia has been building supply capacity to Europe for 10 years, deliberately making itself the no-brainer, low-cost supplier.

After the Ukraine fracas, the US started to bully the Europeans into paying up for more expensive US gas, in the name of 'energy security' and the bottom line of Big Oil, that is, Black Gold, Texas T.

Well now its a reality with the first ridiculously over-priced American imports arriving by tanker.

As usual, the Ukraine takes the cake. The price they pay for coal shipped from West Virginia is three times what they could be paying for Donbass coal. And yes, Mama Merkel is paying for that too.

As they do in this segment, the Russians are going to make sure every last European knows they are pathetic dupes and serfs to Uncle Sam.

This is going to get interesting.

 

[angelburst29]

Just a day after US troops and hardware arrived in Poland for the deployment in eastern Europe, some military equipment has been stolen from a railway container in the country's west.

US Military Equipment Worth $56,000 Stolen in Poland Day After it Arrives 14.09.2017
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201709141057399316-us-military-equipment-stolen-poland/

US military equipment worth a combined 200,000 zloty ($56,000) was stolen from a railway container in the town of Zagan in western Poland, RMF radio station reported citing the prosecutor’s office.

The container was not transporting arms, ammunition or explosives, but did contain specialized advanced military equipment.

The case is being jointly investigated by the Wroclaw prosecutor's office and the Military Gendarmerie.

The incident took place just one day after US troops and military equipment arrived in the city of Gdansk, Poland, for the deployment in eastern Europe.
The vehicles that arrived in Poland include 87 M1 Abrams tanks, 103 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 18 Paladin self-propelled Howitzers, along with other trucks and equipment, according to the Defense Department.

Operation Atlantic Resolve was launched to boost NATO's military presence in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland following the eruption of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014 with the Western countries using alleged Russian interference in Ukrainian affairs as a pretext.

I suspect, the "building of gigantic LNG harbors" for "the future" import of American gas - is a cover story - transforming the harbors into Ports, capable of receiving Pentagon/NATO Military ships and supplies?

Amid the massive deployment of US troops and hardware to Poland, the Pentagon has practiced shipping tanks directly to the eastern European state.

US Ships Tanks Directly to Poland for First Time for Future Deployments 15.09.2017
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201709151057432909-us-tanks-poland-deployment/

The US Army has shipped tanks directly to Poland for the first time with the rotation of an armored brigade, to gauge the ability of the nation’s Gdansk port’s ability to handle large military shipments, the Department of Defense announced in a press release on Friday.

"This is the first replacement of troops as part of continuing 'heel-to-toe' rotations to maintain a US armored brigade in Europe, as well as the first time tanks have arrived directly in Poland by sea," the release stated.

Commander of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command Maj. Gen. Steven Shapiro said that using Gdansk helps test the Army's capacity, the capacity of the port, and to make sure that the Army knows how to operate inside of Poland.

Polish leadership also observed the unloading and staging of tracked and wheeled vehicles, including 87 M1 Abrams tanks, 103 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 18 Paladin self-propelled Howitzers and other trucks and equipment, the release said.

Earlier this week, US troops and military equipment arrived in the city of Gdansk for the deployment in eastern Europe as part of the Operation Atlantic Resolve, which was launched to boost NATO's military presence in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland following the eruption of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014 with the Western countries using alleged Russian interference in Ukrainian affairs as a pretext.

 

[angelburst29]

Some 17,000 soldiers and 3,500 vehicles are taking part in large-scale military drills DRAGON-17 that have started on Wednesday in Poland.

DRAGON-17 Large-Scale Military Drills Start in Poland
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201709201057549204-dragon-drills-poland/

The opening ceremony of the largest military exercises in Poland dubbed DRAGON-17 took place earlier on Wednesday at the training ground in Zegrze near Warsaw.

According to the Polish Defense Ministry, some 17,000 soldiers and 3,500 vehicles will participate in the drills, which are expected to last until September 29. In addition to the country's own military, Poland's NATO allies from the United States, Lithuania, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, as well as Georgia and Ukraine which are seeking to join the alliance, are set to take part in the exercises.

"All branches of the armed forces will be involved in these exercises. Coordination and cooperation with the navy and air force will also be practiced. Territorial defense troops participating in the exercises for the first time will defend runways and act as divisions that support the actions of other troops," Poland’s Deputy Minister of National Defense Michal Dworczyk told reporters.

DRAGON-17 drills partly coincide with the ongoing Russia-Belarus Zapad-2017 strategic military exercises that started last week and are set to be held through Wednesday. The exercises involve about 12,700 servicemen, including up to 5,500 from Russia and about 7,200 from Belarus. The Russia-Belarus drills have been highly criticized by a number of NATO states.

According to media reports, a train station and 10 US army tanks were damaged while the latter were being transported by rail in Poland.

Casualties of War: Collision in Poland Damages 10 US Tanks and Railway Station (Photo tweet)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201709191057517430-poland-us-tanks-incident/
https://twitter.com/V00D00web/status/910104950675525632/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2Feurope%2F201709191057517430-poland-us-tanks-incident%2F

A train station and 10 US army tanks were damaged while the military vehicles were being transported by rail in Poland, local media reported on Tuesday.

The FM radio station RMF reported that the vehicles failed to clear the awning of a train station near the city of Torun while being transported from Gdansk to a military range in Zagan. As a result of the incident, 10 out 37 tanks, as well as the awning were damaged.

​Local police confirmed that the tanks belonged to the US army. The police also reportedly examined the condition of the train's crew, who were found to be sober.

Several days ago, around 200 US M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles arrived in Gdansk by sea, the reports also noted.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is currently conducting Operation Atlantic Resolve in Poland. The operation is aimed at boosting the alliance's military presence in the Eastern European states. It entails the deployment of some 3,500 US troops as well as aircraft and heavy equipment.

Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, NATO has been boosting its military presence in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe, citing Russia's alleged interference in the conflict as justification for the move. Following the NATO summit in July 2016, the alliance decided to deploy four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

 

[angelburst29]

Polish defense minister wants more US divisions in Poland
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/polish-defense-minister-wants-more-us.html

At least two American divisions are needed on the territory of Poland for defense and confrontation with external threats, the Minister of Defense Antoni Macierewicz said in an interview with the publication Wpolytice.

According to him, the military strength in one division of the US can amount to 15 thousand people. "From the point of view of Poland's defense needs, there must be an order of magnitude greater, that is, more than two divisions," the minister said, responding to a journalist's question about how many US military personnel are needed to defend Poland.

However, he clarified at the same time that this is his personal opinion, and this does not mean that this is being discussed in the defense department.

Earlier, the Polish parliament decided to increase the country's defense spending from 2.01% to 2.5% of GDP. Macierewicz explained these measures are a response to "threats from the East".

According to Macierewicz, Russia "uses force to achieve its political goals."

We recall that on September 20, Poland's Minister of DefenseAntoni Macierewicz reported that Russia planned to use nuclear weapons during the West 2017 exercises on the Polish TV channel TVP Info.

"The exercises will continue, but now with the use of nuclear weapons and the development of their use, and this was not included in the exercise program," he said, adding that the officially disseminated information on maneuvers was "misleading".

 

[Ant22]

Polish defense minister wants more US divisions in Poland
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/polish-defense-minister-wants-more-us.html

At least two American divisions are needed on the territory of Poland for defense and confrontation with external threats, the Minister of Defense Antoni Macierewicz said in an interview with the publication Wpolytice.

According to him, the military strength in one division of the US can amount to 15 thousand people. "From the point of view of Poland's defense needs, there must be an order of magnitude greater, that is, more than two divisions," the minister said, responding to a journalist's question about how many US military personnel are needed to defend Poland.

However, he clarified at the same time that this is his personal opinion, and this does not mean that this is being discussed in the defense department.

Earlier, the Polish parliament decided to increase the country's defense spending from 2.01% to 2.5% of GDP. Macierewicz explained these measures are a response to "threats from the East".

According to Macierewicz, Russia "uses force to achieve its political goals."

We recall that on September 20, Poland's Minister of DefenseAntoni Macierewicz reported that Russia planned to use nuclear weapons during the West 2017 exercises on the Polish TV channel TVP Info.

"The exercises will continue, but now with the use of nuclear weapons and the development of their use, and this was not included in the exercise program," he said, adding that the officially disseminated information on maneuvers was "misleading".

A natural response to the increasing NATO / American presence in Poland coupled with the Russian-scare propaganda is Russia taking counter measures. Unlike what the Polish government officials claim, it's a means of defense, not attack, as the article below explains:


http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960722000315

Snr Russian MP: Moscow Could Send More Missiles to Kaliningrad over ‘US Military Buildup in Poland’:

Russia will “most certainly” respond to the ongoing military buildup at its Western borders, Vladimir Shamanov, the head of the Russian State Duma’s Defense Committee and a former airborne troops commander, said, as cited by TASS.

“That may result in not only an increase of the number of military personnel, but could also involve strengthening our Iskander-M group, in [Russia’s western exclave of] Kaliningrad in particular,” he added.

The MP once again slammed US actions in Eastern Europe by saying that Washington is building up its troops in the region without consulting with Russia, in violation of international agreements.

Such an angry reaction by the head of the Duma’s Defense Committee was provoked by reports that the US recently “covertly”sent a new mechanized brigade to Poland, effectively increasing the overall strength of its military group in the Eastern European state to the level of a mechanized division.

Against the background of Western concerns around the joint Russian-Belarusian ‘Zapad-2017’ drills, “the US 2nd Armored Brigade arrived and took up positions in Poland, [bringing in] its own military hardware,” Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said Thursday.

He claimed the equipment of the 3rd US Armored Brigade, which was previously stationed in the region, “remained in place.” The ministry’s spokesman drew attention to the fact that the US could easily redeploy its trained military personnel from the German Rammstein base to Poland within just two hours.

“In contrast to the claims of NATO and the US on the insignificance of the troops approaching the Russian border, in fact now it is not a brigade there but a US mechanized military division,” he said.

The major general added that, under NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve rotation scheme, the 3rd Armored Brigade should not have brought its own military equipment to Poland but should instead use that left by the 2nd Armored Brigade. Amassing such military power on Russian borders violates the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, he added.

Both NATO and Poland dismissed the Russian ministry’s claims, saying the bloc’s activities are “proportionate and fully consistent with its international commitments," as cited by the Polish PAP news agency.

The Pentagon neither openly confirmed nor denied the reports concerning the numbers involved in the buildup. “We are in those places as a defensive posture and we are very clear about that,” Dana White, a Pentagon spokesperson, said on Friday.

In the meantime, several videos recently posted on YouTube show what are assumed to be US military convoys moving to Poland through Germany. The videos apparently show dozens of US Stryker interim armored vehicles driving through the streets of German towns located in the state of Saxony as well as dozens of Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

NATO and its partners have repeatedly staged drills and amassed forces close to Russian borders, with a perceived “threat” from Moscow often cited as justification.

Russia has stressed that such accusations lack any basis, pointing out that the military buildup by the West is leading to increased tensions. Moscow also, however, said that it is nevertheless open for dialogue with NATO and its partners.

The most recent wave of hysteria in the West was provoked by the joint Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 drills held in mid-September.

Notably, the war games were smaller in scale than military drills held in Poland and Sweden around the same time, while the Russian and Belarusian leadership tried their best to make the Zapad drills transparent by inviting some 90 foreign observers from 60 countries.

 

[angelburst29]

Smart move by Poland - IMF is nothing more than a loan shark - that manipulates to take over a Countries valuable assets!

Poland says no thanks to $9.2bn credit line from IMF
https://www.rt.com/business/406827-poland-rejects-imf-cash/

Warsaw will withdraw from the International Monetary Fund’s precautionary Flexible Credit Line (FCL) worth billions of dollars, according to the country’s finance ministry.

“We are resigning from a $9.2 billion credit line from the IMF. The Polish economy is in such a good situation that we can do it,” the ministry quoted Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Twitter.

The country’s budget posted a record surplus of $1.36 billion for the period from January to August as a result of a steep rise in revenue from value-added tax. Economic growth was almost four percent.

“I have taken the decision to quit the FCL after an analysis of tax data, macroeconomic parameters, assessment of our budget stability and currency reserves,” Morawiecki was cited as saying.

In January, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a two-year arrangement for Poland worth about €8.2 billion at that time.

The fund said the credit line would “provide valuable insurance against external shocks.”

“A possible growth slowdown and banking sector stress in the euro area could have significant spillovers via trade, financial, and confidence channels,” said the IMF.

The Flexible Credit Line has been in place for Poland to use at times of crisis since 2009, but the country has never drawn on the funds. Last year Poland asked the IMF to halve the value of the FCL.

 

[angelburst29]

At least one was killed and eight others were injured in a knife attack in the VIVO! shopping mall in Stalowa Wola in souteastern Poland.

One Dead, Eight Injured in Knife Attack in Poland
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201710201058410914-poland-knife-attack-casualties/

A man armed with a knife attacked terrified shoppers the VIVO! shopping mall in the city of Stalowa Wola in southeastern Poland, RFM FM reported.

The attack occurred at 3 pm local time. A 27-year-old resident of the town, Konrad K., attacked customers in the shopping mall. The madman wounded at least 9 people, one of whom died later in a hospital.

The new hub is aimed at expanding the alliance’s intelligence-gathering capabilities to face the imaginary "threats from Russia."

NATO Opens New Espionage Center in Krakow, Fearing 'Russia's Threat'
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201710201058398574-nato-counterintelligence-center-krakow/

Poland, one of the most vocal countries which are claiming that Russia is posing some invented dangers to its neighbors, has opened the second facility, which is officially called the NATO Counterintelligence Centre of Excellence (CI COE), on its territory.

It is focused on "developing the basic norms, principles and activities" for the spy agencies of NATO allies, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said during the opening ceremony on Thursday, which was also attended by his Hungarian, Romanian and Slovak counterparts.

He stressed that the new hub, which is located in Poland's former capital Krakow, is "fundamentally important, especially in the face of threats from Russia." He further elaborated that espionage now "covers all areas of life," affecting the military as well as critical civilian infrastructure via both cybertools and conventional spying.

Russia has repeatedly stressed that it has no intention of interfering into the affairs of the neighboring countries while pointing out that it is the alliance which is now operating and holding military drills on its very borders.

The new hub was formally endorsed in 2015. Back then, NATO issued a statement, which said that it "aimed to expand the capabilities of the Alliance and its member nations to enhance NATO counter-intelligence and improve interoperability."

The center is a Polish-Slovak initiative supported by Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic, who act as sponsoring nations.

It is the 24th such facility operated by the alliance; they are aimed at "expanding interoperability, increasing capabilities, aiding in the development of doctrine and standards, conducting analyses, evaluating lessons-learned and experimenting in order to test and verify concepts," according to its official website. The first NATO COE was formally accredited on June 1 2005.

The COEs are coordinated by the Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in Norfolk, the US state of Virginia, and are responsible for various activities, including cyber defense, military medicine and counter-terrorism.

The US-led military bloc has recently bolstered its forces in Eastern Europe and in the three Baltic states along Russia's borders with four international battalions.

4,000 US soldiers have been deployed to Poland as part of troop rotations to Europe. 1,200 Canada-led troops are stationed in Latvia, 1,200 German-led servicemen are in Lithuania and 800 UK-led troops are in Estonia.

Poland may lose its last EU ally over its unwillingness to vocally protest against the Ukrainian discriminatory education law, Polish independent commentator Janusz Niedzwiecki told Sputnik, adding that Warsaw is bowing to Washington's will. Meanwhile, Brussels is running out of patience over Kiev's failure to implement the Minsk accords.

Hand in Hand With Uncle Sam: Which EU Member States Will Never Forgive Poland?
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201710201058405890-poland-ukraine-hungary/

Warsaw's decision to turn its back on Hungary which opposes the controversial Ukrainian education law targeting the country's ethnic minorities may undermine Poland's positions in the European Union, Polish independent commentator Janusz Niedzwiecki told Sputnik.

Poland didn't join Budapest's initiative to impose pressure on Kiev over the new legislation which stipulates that from September 1, 2018, children from national minority groups will be able to study in their native language only at primary school level.

"I was surprised by the stance adopted by the Polish government and the Foreign Ministry," Niedzwiecki noted, speaking to Sputnik Poland. "The amendments to the [Ukrainian] law on the education of Ukraine violate the rights of representatives of all national minorities. Kiev violates the basic principles of the European Union and in fact generates discrimination."

Last Thursday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on the new Ukrainian law on education which said that the legislation "does not appear to strike an appropriate balance between the official language and the languages of national minorities."

By snubbing Budapest, Warsaw risks losing its last EU ally, the commentator noted.

"Being a Pole I am deeply displeased by the fact that from a certain time my country has no longer been regarded as a conscientious and independent partner on the international arena, especially in the European Union," Niedzwiecki said. "Once Poland joined the EU, it received a large credit of trust and sympathy, however, it has been wasted [by the Polish government] since then."

Commenting on the reasons behind Warsaw's move he noted that the Polish government is "proceeding in step with Washington."

For some time Warsaw's behavior was viewed by Brussels as "childhood disease of immature Polish democracy," the commentator said, adding that EU member states won't forgive Poland's "unconditional and senseless adherence to advice from Washington."

"Now if someone needs to know the opinion of Poland on any issue, they will ask Washington," he remarked.

Hungary, which has a big diaspora of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, has voiced its discontent with the law along with Russia, Romania, Moldova.

Budapest warned Kiev that "Hungary will block all steps within the European Union that would represent a step forward in Ukraine's European integration process in the spirit of the Eastern Partnership program," as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto declared in an official statement.

For its part, Warsaw announced that it wouldn't impose pressure on Kiev and reportedly negotiated a separate agreement with Ukraine allowing Poles to get a mother-tongue education in the country.

Poland's maneuvers were regarded by Budapest as a stab in the back. Hungarian newspapers' headlines read: "Hungary is in deep shock. Poland betrayed us."

In his interview with Hungarian weekly news magazine Heti Válasz Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski explained that the Polish-Ukrainian "situation was not so severe and the issue could be solved on a bilateral — however not necessarily foreign ministerial — level."

'EU Running Out of Patience' - However, the Polish-Ukrainian rapprochement is complicated by the steady emergence of far-right groups in Kiev. Furthermore, the Ukrainian government continues to indulge in the glorification of nationalist leaders like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, who collaborated with the Nazis during WWII and terrorized Polish, Russian and Jewish civilians.

"There is an absolute rejection of the cultivation of any Bandera slogans in Polish society," Niedzwiecki told Sputnik. "I'm hurt not by the slogans themselves, but by the fact that no one is punished for these illegal actions!"

On October 14, thousands of Ukrainian nationalists in Kiev participated in a march dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the creation of the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) extremist group, outlawed in Russia. Some marchers reportedly gave Nazi salutes.

According to the Polish commentator, Ukraine is "a country with an unpredictable future": Niedzwiecki believes that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his team would be ousted from the leadership positions which would be followed by a new wave of destabilization in the country.

Ukraine is facing further political instability," he said. "After all, the EU has almost run out patience over Kiev's not fulfilling its obligations. Here we are speaking not only about discriminatory amendments to the education law, which contradicts the principles of the EU, but also Ukraine's failure to implement the Minsk agreements."

The Minsk peace accords lay out a detailed 13 point-roadmap toward the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Besides stipulating a complete ceasefire, the document envisages the implementation of reforms in Ukraine to decentralize power and grant the Donetsk and Lugansk regions a special status.

Over the past few months Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly called upon the warring parties in Ukraine to comply with the agreements signed in February 2015.

 

[angelburst29]

The decision comes in the wake of the deterioration of relations between Warsaw and Kiev.

Warsaw Intends to Ban Entry for Individuals With 'Anti-Polish Views'
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201711021058763859-warsaw-ban-entry-anti-polish-views/

The Polish authorities intend to ban entry for individuals supporting anti-Polish views, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has stated, commenting on the state of Polish-Ukrainian relations.

We are currently launching procedures that will not allow people, who hold extremely anti-Polish views, to come to Poland."

According to the Polish foreign minister, those people, who, for example, did not permit the restoration of Polish places of remembrance will also face restrictions in response.

Those individuals, who demonstrate and use administrative measures against Poland, will also face the consequences."

Despite the fact that Ukraine was of geopolitical importance for Poland, the two states should not set aside the issues that divide the two countries, in particular, the historical ones, the Polish top diplomat has concluded.

The move by the Polish authorities comes amid the deterioration of Poland-Ukraine relations amid a series of vandalism acts in Ukraine, targeting the Polish places of remembrance.

In January, a monument devoted to the Polish soldiers killed by the 1st Galicia SS Division, a military formation made-up predominantly of Ukrainians, supporting Nazi Germany in WWII, was blown up in Ukraine's Lviv Region. Another act of vandalism was recorded in February in the Kiev Region, where Bykivnia graves memorial complex was desecrated. Unidentified men painted the symbols of the Galicia SS Division on the memorial. The Polish Foreign Ministry delivered protest notes to Ukraine in both cases.

Tensions have further rised in July when Polish authorities said that they would like to imprint images of the rotunda chapel situated on the territory of Polish war burial sites in the city of Lviv on the pages of new Polish passports. Ukrainian authorities stated that Poland's initiative constituted an unfriendly act which had a negative impact on the development of Ukrainian-Polish partnership, adding that Ukraine was against the politicization of certain historical facts.

 

[angelburst29]

Against whom? US to ship Patriot anti-missile systems to Poland for $10.5 billion
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/11/against-whom-us-to-ship-patriot-anti.html

The United States have decided to supply Poland with "Patriot" anti-missile systems worth about $ 10.5 billion. Such information was reported by the Office of Defense Cooperation of the US Department of Defense.

In early July this year, the US Department of Defense and the Polish Ministry of National Defense signed an agreement on the delivery of Patriot air defense systems to Warsaw. The signing of this document took place during the visit of the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, to Warsaw.

As Polish Defense Minister, Mantoni Macechevic, informed earlier, the Polish authorities have received a proposal from the manufacturer of the systems, according to which the complexes will be manufactured and delivered to Poland by in 2019.

 

[Ant22]

(....) Warsaw Intends to Ban Entry for Individuals With 'Anti-Polish Views'
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201711021058763859-warsaw-ban-entry-anti-polish-views/

The Polish authorities intend to ban entry for individuals supporting anti-Polish views, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has stated, commenting on the state of Polish-Ukrainian relations.

We are currently launching procedures that will not allow people, who hold extremely anti-Polish views, to come to Poland." (...)

And:

'EU Running Out of Patience' - However, the Polish-Ukrainian rapprochement is complicated by the steady emergence of far-right groups in Kiev. Furthermore, the Ukrainian government continues to indulge in the glorification of nationalist leaders like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, who collaborated with the Nazis during WWII and terrorized Polish, Russian and Jewish civilians.

"There is an absolute rejection of the cultivation of any Bandera slogans in Polish society," Niedzwiecki told Sputnik. "I'm hurt not by the slogans themselves, but by the fact that no one is punished for these illegal actions!"

Bandera is a Ukrainian hero whose military group UPA was behind the Volhynia Massacre. Banning people with anti-Polish views will be rather difficult to achieve as this would mean banning many - if not most - Ukrainians who have been arriving since 2014 in large numbers as war refugees.

An older article (July 2016):

Poland recognizes WWII mass killings by Ukrainian nationalists as genocide: https://www.rt.com/news/352771-ukrainian-nationalists-genocide-poland/

The lower house of Polish parliament, the Sejm, has passed a resolution which labels as genocide crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists against the Poles in during World War II. The decision was met with regret in Ukraine.

The document, adopted by the lower house of parliament on Friday, declared July 11 “the Day of commemoration of the Poles who fell victim to the genocide committed by OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists – Ukrainian Insurgent Army) and pays homage to the victims of the genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists against citizens of the Second Polish Republic in 1943-1945."

The move follows a resolution adopted by the upper house, the Senate, on July 8, meaning that the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists in Volhynia (also called Volyn) – an area of southeast Poland that was occupied by Nazi German troops during the war – are officially viewed as genocide by the Polish state.

The “genocide” committed during this period “resulted in the massacres of more than 100,000 citizens of the Second Polish Republic, mostly peasants. Their exact number is still unknown, and many of them have not been buried with dignity to date," the Sejm’s resolution said, according to TASS.

“The memory of the victims of the crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists in the 1940s has not been duly cherished until now, and mass murders were not called genocide in accordance with historical truth," the Polish MPs stressed.

However the Sejm acknowledged that Poles were also responsible for a crackdown on the Ukrainian population during World War II.

“While recalling the atrocities of Ukrainian nationalists, one cannot turn a blind eye to reprisal actions in Ukrainian villages that too claimed the lives of civilians," the document stressed.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a Facebook post that he was saddened by the Polish Sejm’s resolution.

"I feel regret about the decision of the Polish Sejm. I know that many will want to use it for political speculation," Poroshenko wrote, adding that Ukraine and Poland should find mutual forgiveness.

The Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee has slammed the declaration of the National Remembrance Day in Poland for hampering the rapprochement over the two actions.

"The adoption by the Polish Sejm and Senate of anti-Ukrainian resolutions negates all the constructive political and diplomatic developments and the efforts of the two countries and peoples aimed at mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, as well as the memory of the innocent Ukrainian and Polish victims," the committee said in a statement.

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) – and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) it later created – collaborated with the Nazis during WWII against the Soviet forces in an attempt to create a Ukrainian state independent from the USSR.

In 1943, Ukrainian nationalists launched a campaign to annihilate the Polish population in the Volhynia Region. On July 11 of that year, OUN-UPA units attacked nearly 100 Polish-populated towns and villages, killing an estimated 100,000 people, including women, children and the elderly.

Despite international condemnation, OUN-UPA members are regarded as heroes and freedom fighters by the current government in Ukraine.

Polish cosmonaut, Miroslaw Hermaszewski, who was lucky to survive an UPA-OUN attack as a baby, has welcomed the parliamentary resolution.

“I’m very emotional today. I thank them [the MPs] for making such an important decision. It’s was a genocide – there’s no other word for it,” Hermaszewski told RT.

The cosmonaut, who spent over a week in space back in 1978, expressed hope that the decision wouldn’t affect relations between Poland and Ukraine, which “we value very highly.”

“We’re not talking about Ukrainians. We’re talking about Ukrainian nationalists, who fly the UPA-OUN banners. It’s the main problem. One cannot turn criminals into heroes.”

The UPA-OUN fighters attacked the village of Lipniki in Volhynia on the night of 26–27 March 1943, killing 182 people, including 18 of the cosmonaut’s relatives.

The future cosmonaut was lost by his mother, who was injured while escaping a nationalist. The baby spent hours in the snow before being found by his dad and taken to safety.