Two-thirds of Poles are in favor of Poland’s Ministry of Defense’s plans to purchase arms, the latest polling has revealed.
According to a survey by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (IBRiS) for the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, 65.8 percent of respondents had a positive opinion on the purchases, while 24.5 percent were against the plans — 9.6 percent did not have an opinion.
The purchases almost have the full support of United Right’s voters (94 percent) and those who voted for President Andrzej Duda in the last election (93 percent) in 2020. Typically, older generations of respondents who are at least 50 years old and residents of large cities were in favor (73 percent).
The largest groups against the purchases were the 2020 presidential election supporters of Krzysztof Bosak (46 percent), the leader of Confederation, and Rafał Trzaskowski (42 percent) from Civic Platform.
Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak approved purchases from South Korea for close to 1,000 K2 tanks, 600 K9 self-propelled artillery, and 48 FA-50 light fighters for the Polish Armed Forces.
At the same time, Błaszczak announced an increase in arms deliveries from the United States. The additional Patriot batteries, HIMARS squadrons, attack helicopters, and planes will be needed. Talks are underway about an additional purchase of JASSM air-launched cruise missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
