Fighter jets streaked through the sky and long lines of military vehicles thundered through the streets of the Polish capital in a show of military might amid Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine, news outlets reported.
On display were M1A1 Abrams tanks acquired from the United States, K2 main battle tanks from South Korea, K9 self-propelled howitzers, HIMARS missile launchers, and Patriot air defense systems, according to the Polish defence ministry.
Polish-made equipment included Krab self-propelled gun-howitzers, Kleszcz reconnaissance vehicles, Rosomak wheeled armoured personnel carriers, Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles and Rak self-propelled mortars, as well as Baobab-K mine-laying vehicles and Żmija light reconnaissance vehicles, the Polish defence ministry said.
Photos: PAP/Leszek Szymański
Meanwhile, F-16 fighter jets and other aircraft roared overhead in a flypast, accompanied by Black Hawk and Apache helicopters.
F-16 fighter jets and other military aircraft roared overhead in a flypast. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
Troops from other NATO countries joined the parade, among them American, British and Romanian units stationed in Poland to help strengthen the Western military alliance’s eastern flank.
Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a speech during the parade that the Polish army is undergoing a massive upgrade because it "must be ready for all scenarios."
Prime Minister Donald Tusk praised the parading soldiers, calling them "the salt of the earth" and saying they were "in the hearts of all Polish men and women who love their homeland."
President Andrzej Duda, the commander-in-chief of Poland's armed forces, cautioned that the nation must draw lessons from its history.
"We must protect and arm ourselves so that no one will ever dare to attack us again," Duda told the crowd.
President Andrzej Duda speaks during the military parade in Warsaw on Thursday. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
The parade was followed by a military picnic at which people could get inside some of the vehicles and inspect a variety of army hardware, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The August 15 celebration marks Poland’s landmark victory against the Russian Bolsheviks in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish troops led by Marshal Józef Piłsudski defeated an advancing Red Army.
The day was first celebrated as a holiday from 1923 to 1947, and then restored as Armed Forces Day in 1992 after decades of Soviet-imposed communism.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info
