Wojtek Jargiło/PAP

The Polish defence minister has said that the only way to respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans is to strengthen the Polish army.

“(Vladimir – PAP) Putin has decided to rebuild a Russian empire which always threatened the freedom of nations living in Russia’s neighbourhood,” Blaszczak said in Bierun, southern Poland, on Sunday.

“The best and the only way to respond to these threats is to strengthen the Polish armed forces,” Blaszczak continued.

Having rejected the accusations made by his opponents, who claim that he has been buying too much equipment for the army, Blaszczak said that he would not stop on this path as this was the only response to threats which were being posed to Poland.

The minister also said that, apart from the purchases of modern equipment, it was also necessary to increase the number of troops.

“The Law and Justice government has been consistently doing this,” the minister concluded.

Poland has recently ordered modern weapons from South Korea, including K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery launchers and FA-50 combat trainer aircraft, as well as US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), in reaction to increased threats from Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the biggest military conflict in Europe since World War Two.