WARSAW (Reuters) -Russian forces have floundered in Ukraine and history shows Russia’s army can be beaten in combat, Poland’s president told a military parade on Friday marking the 105th anniversary of a victory over the Red Army by Polish defenders.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki, an ally of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, spoke as the eyes of the world were focused on Alaska, where the U.S. president will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks on the war in Ukraine.
The parade marked the 105th anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw during which Poland defeated the invading Red Army and prevented Soviet forces pushing towards western Europe.
“Russia is not invincible,” Nawrocki said in a speech before the parade.
“It lost to Japan at the beginning of the 20th century, it was defeated by the Poles in 1920, and today, for over three years… it has been floundering after its attack on Ukraine thanks to the support of allies and the solidarity of free nations, including, and at times especially, Poland.”
Already tense relations between Warsaw and Moscow have hit new lows since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. NATO member Poland says its own role as a hub for aid for Kyiv has made it a target of Russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation.
Nawrocki joined a Ukraine teleconference with Europe an leaders and Trump on Wednesday that discussed the U.S. president’s forthcoming summit with Putin.
Warsaw, NATO’s leading spender on defence as a percentage of GDP, has ramped up its military spending since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It plans to spend 5% of GDP on defence in 2026 to repel what it says is a renewed threat from the east.
Around 50 military aircraft, including F-16 fighter jets, flew overhead as 4,000 Polish soldiers accompanied by around 200 troops from NATO allies marched alongside the Vistula river beside Leopard, K2 and Abrams tanks, Borsuk and Rosomak armoured vehicles as well as Patriot and HIMARS artillery systems.
A naval parade featuring around 20 vessels also took place in the Baltic sea.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Editing by William Maclean)
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