“Every year, on August 15th, the spirit of victory is awakened within us, within the modern Polish nation. The spirit of a free nation, ready to fight for the values that matter most to us,” said President Karol Nawrocki during the ceremonial parade marking Polish Armed Forces Day.
The new president also posted a message on X, which was clearly very targeted at the upcoming Trump-Putin talks: “The Polish Army, together with Ukrainian forces, successfully repelled the Red Army’s westward march, safeguarding Europe from a communist revolution.”
“For centuries, Russian imperialism has been a mortal threat to our freedom. Poland’s political tradition teaches that Russian expansionism rests on a legacy of domestic despotism, in which the only free man is the ruler himself.
“But precisely because Russian despotism is the enemy of freedom, Russian imperialism can only be defeated through an alliance of free peoples,” Nawrocki wrote, then listing a series of times when Poland stopped Russian advances.
“The Polish people know that resisting Russian imperialism is not merely an economic matter – it concerns the very essence of human and national freedom. Freedom is priceless. It can neither be bought nor sold. It must be defended. This is the Polish tradition, stretching back to the 15th century.”
Inviting all Poles to celebrate this holiday, Nawrocki finished his post by saying: “That is why we will never surrender to Russian imperialism, and why we stand with Ukraine in defending its freedom – to make Europe whole, free, and at peace once again. Russia is not unstoppable. Russia is not undefeatable.”
Aug. 15 marks the anniversary of Poland’s victory in the Battle of Warsaw in 1920. The Polish military’s victory was decisive in preserving the country’s independence and halting the advance of the Bolshevik Revolution into Western Europe. It was also one of the most important elements of the historical memory of the Second Polish Republic.
The date was proclaimed Polish Armed Forces Day in 1923. It remained so until 1947. Since 1992, Polish Armed Forces Day has once again been celebrated in mid-August.
