Mariusz Błaszczak made the statement at a media briefing in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He spoke on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers that was set to run until Friday, according to officials.
Błaszczak briefed reporters on the outcome of a meeting of the so-called Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which brings together around 50 Ukraine-supporting countries, to discuss further Western support for Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion, the PAP news agency reported.
'We should offer Ukraine a path towards NATO membership'
Błaszczak said: “From our Polish standpoint, Ukraine should become a member of the NATO alliance. It’s because Ukraine represents proof of our collective security.”
The Polish defence minister added: “Obviously, as NATO members we must stand united, and so Poland is open to talks on this subject.”
He stated: “In my opinion, we should offer Ukraine a path towards NATO membership. It is my hope that during the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, such a path will be unveiled. Perhaps even a timetable.”
Błaszczak, who is also a Polish deputy prime minister, told reporters: “Our allies appreciate Poland’s role when it comes to supporting Ukraine.”
He added: “Among the Ukraine-supporting countries, we are united in our assessment of Russia’s actions, many of which lead to war crimes, such as the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro river ... It put thousands of people in real danger. It’s also an environmental threat.”
He declared: “We condemn such actions. We also regard them as an attempt to stop or slow down Ukraine’s counteroffensive.”
Błaszczak told reporters that Ukrainian forces were carrying out counterattacking operations using military equipment that had been supplied by “the free world.”
He said: “We are supporting Ukraine as we are determined to not let Russia conquer Ukraine and then go further. There is no doubt that such are Russia’s true intentions.”
'Allies appreciate Poland's drive to strengthen army': Błaszczak
Błaszczak also said that allies had "expressed appreciation" for Poland’s efforts to modernise its army in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, "under the flagship homeland defence law."
He said: “During talks behind the scenes, I’ve been hearing words of appreciation for our drive to strengthen the Polish army, to equip Polish soldiers with modern weapons. I am open to cooperation with our allies, to ensure that this process goes quickly.”
Błaszczak added: “Poland’s homeland defence law is the envy of our allies. I’m sharing with them the specific provisions of this law.”
He told the media that Poland was "actively developing" its capabilities in anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence.
He said: “We are doing this in collaboration with the United States, as regards the Patriot system, and with Britain, when it comes to the short-range Narew system, using the UK-made Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) weaponry.”
Meanwhile, “the very-short range layer” of Poland’s air defence “is made up of the Piorun man-portable air-defence systems as well as other domestically produced weapons,” Błaszczak added.
Allies to start training Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said he was pleased with Thursday’s get-together of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group during which allies announced they would start training Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets, the PAP news agency reported.
At a joint news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, Reznikov said: “Today I heard very important news about the so-called fighter jet coalition. Today we got the commitment of our partners that training courses will start. And together we will build up a consortium of fighter jets.”
Reznikov told reporters that initially the fighter-jet coalition would cover “the F-16s, with the Netherlands and Denmark as leaders, and other countries will join.”
Earlier, the NATO chief told reporters that the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s had begun, although it had not yet been decided which countries would transfer jets to help Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, the PAP news agency reported.
On June 1, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed that his country would help train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
During a visit to Moldova, Morawiecki said: “We have agreed a timetable for these training courses. Poland will help Ukraine train its pilots on F-16 fighters.”
Allies to provide 'what Ukraine needs' for counteroffensive: Austin
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin told reporters after the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that allies would continue to provide "what Ukraine needs to be successful" in its ongoing counteroffensive against Russia, the PAP news agency reported.
Austin said: "What's important is that, you know, the Ukrainians have the ability to recover equipment that's been damaged, repair where -- where possible, get that equipment back into the fight, and also that they have the -- we have a means to continue to push capability forward."
'There will continue to be battle damage'
He cautioned that "there will continue to be battle damage."
"I think the Russians have shown us that same five vehicles about a thousand times from 10 different angles," Austin said.
He added: "But quite frankly, the Ukrainians still have a lot of combat capability ... This will continue to be a tough fight as we anticipated, and I believe that ... the element that does the best in terms of sustainment will probably have the advantage at the end of the day. So our focus is on making sure that we continue to push forward what Ukraine needs in order to be successful."
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 477 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, dziennik.pl, defense.gov