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Possible future deployment of Polish troops to Ukraine, security chief says

According to Dariusz Lukowski, Warsaw may face "strong pressure" aimed at forcing it to take part in the peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, since Poland has one of the largest armies in Europe

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/. The Polish authorities are currently not planning to include their troops in the peacekeeping forces of European countries in Ukraine, although this cannot be excluded in the future, Head of the National Security Bureau Dariusz Lukowski said on Radio Zet.

"At the present time, no. In the future? This cannot be excluded, as the situation is developing. Perhaps there will come a moment when we will have to be involved in this mission in some way," Lukowski said. According to him, Warsaw may face "strong pressure" aimed at forcing it to take part in the peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, since Poland has one of the largest armies in Europe.

Moreover, he emphasized that it would be advantageous to have Turkey as part of such a mission, as Ankara itself may view its involvement beneficial. "It is also linked to Turkey’s influence in the Black Sea region. This will strengthen its positions in the region," he believes.

Poland’s National Security Bureau head also said that the deployment of troops to Ukraine had not been discussed during last week’s talks between the country’s authorities and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

On January 23, Politico reported that European countries were still discussing the possibility of sending military forces to Ukraine. According to the news agency, French President Emmanuel Macron met with US President-elect Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky in December 2024. Politico said that Macron had hoped to persuade Poland to send its peacekeepers, but faced opposition from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The talks eventually stalled. On February 17, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain was ready to send troops to Ukraine as security guarantees for the authorities in Kiev in order to settle the conflict.

Earlier, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the deployment of foreign military contingents to Ukraine would be fraught with extremely negative consequences, including irreparable ones.

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