Poland, Ukraine move to link arms industries, coordinate air defenses

WARSAW, Poland — With the war in Ukraine expected to dominate the agenda of the NATO summit that begins in Washington today, the Kyiv government signed a security cooperation agreement with Poland, one of its staunchest allies .

The deal, signed in Warsaw on July 8 by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, foresees Polish support for integrating the Ukrainian defense industry with Western partners, and it calls for air-defense cooperation between the two nations in the event of an attack.

In a statement released by his office, Tusk said his country will push allies during the summit to accelerate the process of admitting Ukraine to NATO and make the alliance’s aid to Kyiv even more efficient.

“Also in Washington, Poland has been very active in promoting Ukraine’s accession to NATO,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference here following the ceremonial signing of the security pact.

The bilateral accord foresees Poland supporting the integration of Ukraine’s defense industry “into NATO and EU defense and security frameworks,” according to the agreement text. The partners also declared that they will foster more industrial cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian industry players.

“The participants will collaborate to create an environment conducive to Polish defense companies locating production also in Ukraine,” according to the agreement. “Additionally, they intend to include Ukrainian-based enterprises in the production chains of military equipment.”

Another key part of the document refers to the need for air-defense cooperation between Poland and Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. In March 2024, a Russian missile briefly violated Poland’s airspace during an intense missile attack on Ukraine. The incident pushed the Polish Air Force to scramble its F-16 fighter jets.

“The participants agree on the need to continue their bilateral dialogue and dialogues with other partners, aimed at examining rationale and feasibility of possible intercepting in Ukraine’s airspace missiles and UAVs fired in the direction of territory of Poland,” according to the agreement, using shorthand for unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——由于乌克兰战争预计将成为今天在华盛顿开幕的北约峰会的主要议题，基辅政府与波兰（其最坚定的盟友之一）签署了一项安全合作协议。

该协议于 7 月 8 日在华沙由波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克和乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基签署，协议规定波兰将支持乌克兰国防工业与西方伙伴融合，并要求两国在遭受攻击时开展防空合作。

图斯克在其办公室发表的一份声明中表示，乌克兰将在峰会期间敦促盟友加快乌克兰加入北约的进程，并使北约对基辅的援助更加有效。

泽连斯基在安全条约正式签署仪式后举行的新闻发布会上表示：“波兰也在华盛顿积极推动乌克兰加入北约。”

根据协议文本，波兰将支持乌克兰国防工业融入“北约和欧盟的防务与安全框架”。双方还宣布，将促进波兰和乌克兰工业企业之间开展更多产业合作。

根据协议，“各方将合作创造有利于波兰国防企业在乌克兰设立生产基地的环境。此外，他们还计划将乌克兰企业纳入军事装备的生产链。”

该文件的另一关键部分提到，在俄罗斯持续入侵的背景下，波兰和乌克兰需要加强防空合作。2024年3月，在俄罗斯对乌克兰发动猛烈导弹袭击期间，一枚俄罗斯导弹短暂侵犯了波兰领空。该事件促使波兰空军紧急出动F-16战斗机。

根据协议，“各方一致认为有必要继续开展双边对话以及与其他伙伴的对话，旨在探讨在乌克兰领空拦截射向波兰领土的导弹和无人机的合理性和可行性”，协议中使用了无人机的简称。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。