Mariusz Błaszczak made the declaration at a ceremony to mark 102 years since the Battle of Komarów, one of the key episodes of the Polish-Soviet War, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Sunday’s ceremony in southeastern Poland saw the unveiling of a memorial to the Polish victory at Komarów.
‘Poland saved Europe from Bolshevik onslaught’
Błaszczak told the audience: “Although the Bolshevik forces were bigger and sowed terror, our ancestors stopped Bolshevik Russia and saved Europe from the Bolshevik onslaught.”
Referring to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, he stated: “I visited Irpin near Kyiv and I saw the impact of the Russian army, I saw the consequences of a Russian invasion.”
‘Poland won’t let Russia occupy its land’
The defence minister, who is also a deputy prime minister, stressed that Poland must respond to such threats “by remembering the past and consistently strengthening and developing the Polish army.”
He vowed: “We won’t allow Russia to occupy any strip of Polish land.”
Błaszczak added: “We won’t allow it because we want Poland to be free. Because we want and we can defend our homeland.”
The defence minister stated that the government and President Andrzej Duda “are responsible for enabling the Polish soldiers to effectively defend our homeland.”
Sunday’s tribute to the Battle of Komarów was also attended by Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Culture and National Heritage Minister Piotr Gliński, who said that “memory is the basis for the functioning of the national community.”
Sunday was day 186 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, gov.pl, polska-zbrojna.pl