The Ministry of Defense of Poland announced this week that it will invest about $ 665 million (about R $ 2.6 billion or 2.4 billion Zlotys, Polish currency) in the construction of three new ammunition factories amid the growing fear of a possible Russian invasion in Polish territory.
The country, which has led with Germany and the United Kingdom European effort to increase defense investments since the beginning of the Ukraine War.
According to the news agency Reutersthe new facilities will include a 155mm artillery projectile factory, whose demand has increased significantly since the beginning of the conflict in Europe, as European countries have used their inventories to provide Ukrainian defense.
The idea of the Polish government is to increase its annual production of projectiles to 150 thousand units by 2028.
In addition to investing in structure and manufacture of war material, Poland is also about to complete negotiations to buy a second lot of South Korea K2 tanks, according to information from the South Korean defense.
While the first contract focused on Korean vehicles that could be supplied to protect the borders agile Reuters This second lot should grant the South Korean manufacturer a more permanent position in Europe, with the help of Polish defense companies in the assembly and implementation of the fleet.
Europe in alert
Last month, the United Kingdom announced an investment of £ 1.5 billion in new military facilities to “massively” increase the production of artillery and explosive projectiles.
The increase in military investments has become a trend among European countries since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. In March this year, Germany announced its largest defense plan since World War II, estimated at about 500 billion euros.
Eastern European countries that are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in turn, have also adopted drastic measures to try to contain Russia’s territorial ambitions: the installation of millions of terrestrial mines over over 3,500 kilometers of border with Russian and Belarus territory.
The decision, which has already been made by Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, occurs amid the fear of a possible Russian advance over Europe, a scenario that has been analyzed since the beginning of the war of dictator Vladimir Putin against Ukraine, triggered in 2022.
See also:
- Russian threat makes Denmark impose compulsory military service for women for the first time in history
- Putin signals arrangement for a new round of negotiations with Ukraine
