NATO Hawks’ Plans for New Bases in Poland, Romania, Slovakia Won’t Transpire Any Time Soon - Analyst
© AFP 2023 / DANIEL MIHAILESCU
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NATO intends to set up three large military bases in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia "to coordinate weapons supplies to Ukraine,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated earlier on Radio Kossuth, adding that Hungary would not be part of such activity.
NATO plans for new military bases being established in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia won't become reality any time soon, political observer Mateusz Piskorski told Sputnik.
The creation of new military bases in general takes time, and requires appropriate infrastructure, the columnist for the newspaper Mysl Polska (Polish Thought) noted.
“I think that this applies, first of all, to Poland and Romania, because indeed in these two countries a certain infrastructure already exists, and perhaps some NATO representatives, NATO hawks, believe that the existing infrastructure is insufficient for the transfer of weapons and the creation of training centers,” he stated.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban earlier voiced concern that the North Atlantic Alliance is planning to establish three large military bases in the aforementioned three countries.
"NATO wants to create a so-called NATO mission in Ukraine. This means that NATO will coordinate the transfer of weapons supplied to Ukraine. They will create three large military bases where they will transfer weapons to Ukraine also here on the territory of NATO countries — in Poland, Slovakia and Romania," Orban told the Kossuth radio broadcaster.
Orban also emphasized that Hungary, which borders Ukraine, would not take part in this activity. "Obviously, colossal pressure is being put on us from the [other] 31 NATO member countries to sway us from the position of peace to the side of war," Orban said.
As far as Poland is concerned, it has operated a major logistics hub for Western aid to Ukraine almost from the outset of the conflict, Mateusz Piskorski pointed out.
The small Polish airport that used to cater to budget flights, Rzeszow-Jasionka, has been transformed to serve its new logistical purpose primarily due to its proximity to Ukraine’s border. It has also served as a stopover point for officials travelling to and from Ukraine.
US soldiers disembark from a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane on the tarmac of Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, south eastern Poland, on February 16, 2022.
© AFP 2023 / WOJTEK RADWANSKI
The US European Command (EUCOM) installed Patriot missile launchers around the perimeter of Rzeszow-Jasionka International Airport in March 2022 ostensibly as a “defensive deployment” after the Ukraine crisis escalated. Currently, a total of about 10,000 troops of the US Armed Forces are stationed in Poland, primarily as part of a rotational presence. In March, 2023, the Area Support Group Poland (ASG-P) was transformed into the US Army Garrison Poland (USAG-P) – the first permanent American Army garrison in Poland.
Patriot air defense systems are seen from the plane carrying the German defence minister, at the airport of Rzeszow-Jasionka, Poland, on November 22, 2023.
© AFP 2023 / INA FASSBENDER
“Most likely, we are talking about possibly adding additional infrastructure to the existing military bases,” Piskorski noted.
The political observer reiterated that in both Poland and Romania, “a certain infrastructure already exists, and there is almost complete agreement of the authorities in these countries regarding the policy in relation to the Ukrainian conflict.”
Romania is currently expanding its Mihail Kogalniceanu base, near Constanta, on the Black Sea coast, transforming it into the largest NATO military base in Europe – surpassing the US military base in Ramstein, Germany, in size. It will reportedly be able to host 10,000 soldiers and civilians by 2030. NATO is already believed to be relocating some logistics and human resources from Ramstein to the Mihail Kogalniceanu base.
Military equipment of the French army is downloaded from an Antonov 124 freight airplane, at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base near Constanta, Romania, on March 3, 2022.
© AFP 2023 / DANIEL MIHAILESCU
As for Slovakia, the mention of this country in the context of reported plans to set up new NATO military bases surprised the pundit.
“I am surprised that Slovakia is mentioned here, because we know full well the position of the current Slovak government on this matter. Therefore, I very much doubt that Slovakia, especially the prime minister, will somehow change this stance and agree to the construction of NATO military infrastructure to support Ukraine. At this point, I find this unlikely,” Piskorski said.
The previous Slovakian government was fully onboard with Ukraine aid, but Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was elected on a promise to end his country’s aid to the Kiev regime – a campaign promise he fulfilled. Fico is still recovering from five gunshot wounds he suffered in a recent assassination attempt by a pro-Ukraine liberal activist. He recently criticized Western nations for allowing Kiev to strike Russian territory. He asserted that Slovakia will avoid involvement in such “military gambles.”
Regarding the possible functionality such additional NATO military bases might have, Piskorski speculated that talk was focused for now on "intensifying those actions that are already taking place."
“Firstly, this is, of course, a transport hub for the transfer of additional weapons to Ukraine. Secondly, there is the issue of training Ukraine’s military; and thirdly, perhaps these might be centers for coordinating military actions on the territory of Ukraine,” he noted.
He pointed out that it is a well-known fact that such coordination centers “are located not only on the territory of Ukraine itself, but also outside its borders. Therefore, these are at least three different functions, most of which are already performed by infrastructure that has already existed for quite a long time.”
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If NATO troops are attacked on Ukrainian territory, Hungary is not obliged to participate in Article 5 response… pic.twitter.com/hmhtazBctW
The majority of the Polish population, in Piskorski's opinion, might be “quite skeptical about any attempts to escalate the conflict, and certainly about attempts to involve Poland in some kind of activities directly on the territory of Ukraine."
He recalled that recently, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk denied any plans to transfer a Polish Patriot battery to Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of these systems in defending his country's airspace.
Mateusz Piskorski added that, “no official in Poland has yet publicly discussed this issue or announced any plans for the formation of a new military infrastructure in Poland.”
Noting the extent to which fanning the flames of the NATO proxy war in Ukraine has exhausted the production capacity of Europe’s own military-industrial complex, the pundit noted:
“We should not expect an increase in supplies [to Ukraine], in my opinion. And if we can’t expect an increase in supplies, then the question arises: why build new military bases? Of course, they may potentially have completely different tasks, but we don’t know that.”
