Polish military gears up for Army Day parade
Poland’s military is making final preparations for the country’s Army Day on Tuesday, held this year against the backdrop of tensions on the border with Kremlin ally Belarus.
The event — held annually on August 15 — commemorates the anniversary of the 1920 victory over Soviet Russia at the Battle of Warsaw, locally known as the “Miracle on the Vistula.”
Video shared by the Polish army on Sunday showed dozens of tanks and military vehicles taking part in a nighttime rehearsal in Warsaw.
Diplomatic ties between Poland, a NATO member country, and key Kremlin ally Belarus have ruptured in recent weeks amid increased military activity along the border.
Earlier this year, troops from the Russian military group Wagner were stationed in Belarus after a failed mutiny against Moscow. Their increased presence in the region prompted Warsaw to deploy more troops at the border.
What's happening? Tuesday's parade will start at 2 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) along Wisłostrada — a highway that runs past the Vistula River in the capital, according to the Polish Ministry of Defense’s website.
The ministry added that it will present “200 units of Polish and foreign military equipment and 92 aircraft accompanied by 2,000 soldiers.”
The parade will include foreign equipment, including US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks, South Korean K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers, HIMARS rocket launchers, Krab self-propelled howitzers, as well as Patriot air defense systems, part of the Polish “WISŁA” system, according to the ministry's website.
The equipment of Polish production will include, among others: new Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, Rosomak armored personnel carriers, and Rak self-propelled mortars, as well as Baobab-K mine-laying vehicles and Żmija light reconnaissance vehicles, the ministry added.
The military said it would also host nearly 70 “military picnics” from Saturday to Tuesday throughout Poland. At the picnics, people are able to talk to crews and have "the opportunity to learn about the construction of combat vehicles,” or try “the military pea soup with bread” while watching military films.
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