Andrzej Duda made the statement in Warsaw on Friday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The head of state attended a ceremony to mark 20 years since the establishment of the state-run Military Institute of Medicine (WIM).
Accompanied by First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, the president thanked the institute’s staff for their role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and for their assistance to war-torn Ukraine, from treating Kyiv’s soldiers to supporting Ukrainian medics.
'Thank you so much for helping Ukraine'
He said: “Thank you so much for helping Ukraine over the past year. I know that you are treating wounded soldiers, that you are supporting Ukraine’s medical services, that you are coaching them through training programmes, that you are working with them on a daily basis.”
Duda added: “And so each day of your service here is also devoted to helping Ukraine, which is defending itself against the Russian assault.”
New medical corps for Polish army
Duda told the gathering: “You are also about to embark on something great ... Today, the prime minister [Mateusz Morawiecki], the defence minister [Mariusz Błaszczak], and the director of your institute, with the support of my National Security Bureau, are working to set up a new branch of the army, the medical corps.”
The president also said: “As we’ve witnessed from up close ... battlefield medicine is extremely important ...”
Meanwhile, the defence minister, who also accompanied the president on Friday, said that “developing medical care for military personnel” was part of the government’s efforts to “to ensure the security of our homeland.”
Friday was day 338 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, prezydent.pl, wpolityce.pl