The first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 was administered to more than 95 percent of soldiers serving on missions abroad, the second dose to nearly 30 percent, said Deputy Defence Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz during a meeting of the national defence commission.

The deputy minister emphasised that the participation of the Polish Armed Forces in operations abroad is an important element of the defence policy of the Republic of Poland. He added that this commitment combines two elements: supporting the efforts of the international community to ensure security and peace in the world and strengthening our country’s ability to respond to crisis situations.

Mr Skurkiewicz informed that last year the average annual level of involvement of the Polish army in military missions remained at the level of approximately 3,000 soldiers”. It is also maintained at the same level in 2021,” the deputy minister said.

Currently, the Polish Armed Forces are carrying out mandate tasks in 10 Polish military contingents. 5 contingents are conducting NATO operations in Afghanistan (400 people), Kosovo (300 people), Latvia (200 people), Romania (250 people) and Turkey (80 people).

3 contingents as part of the EU mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (50 people), Central African Republic (2 people) and Italy (80 people).

As part of UN missions and operations, there is one contingent in Lebanon (250 people) and the last contingent as part of the forces of the global coalition against the so-called Islamic State and the allied NATO training mission, in Iraq (350 people).

“The presented numbers are the maximums that result from the president’s decision on the Armed Forces involvement in missions in foreign countries. Of course, we do not fully use these limits, the actual numbers are lower, in some cases much lower,” emphasised the deputy defence minister.