Poland takes threats posed by Russia very seriously - ambassador

RIGA - Poland takes security threats posed by Russia very seriously, Latvian Ambassador to Poland Juris Poikans said in an interview with Latvian Television this morning.

Poikans said that the political leadership of Poland has committed to increase defense spending to 5 percent of the gross domestic product in the long term and to create the strongest army in Europe.

Speaking about the recent "missile incident", Poikans emphasized that the official investigation has not yet been completed, but there are two versions - either a missile from the Ukrainian air defense system fell on the border, which did not hit a Russian missile, or some debris fell from a Russian missile shot down by Ukraine.

In any case, this is the consequence of the war caused by Russia, the diplomat reminded NATO's position on this incident.

Meanwhile, the ambassador does not see any major problems in the reception of Ukrainian refugees in Poland. In his assessment, the Poles have also prepared for a new influx of refugees, and the integration of those who have arrived is quite successful, including in the labor market. It is currently estimated that there are 1.4 to 1.5 million refugees from the Ukrainian war in Poland.

Poikans reiterated that the war started by Russia must end, with Ukraine restoring its territorial sovereignty.