Poland military spending is skyrocketing as Russia meddles next door
With an eye on the evolving conflict in Ukraine, Poland has begun an ambitious 10-year, $42 billion overhaul of its military, as it grows increasingly wary of neighboring Russia. The announcement comes asthe ceasefire in Ukraine between the government and Russian-backed rebels hangs in the balance.
Ukraine shares a border with Poland, which has itself a long history of armed conflict with Russia and was part of the Soviet bloc until Poland's communist regime collapsed in 1989.
Poland also borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad to the north, and is becoming increasingly uneasy as Russian warplanes fly closer to the borders of the European Union and NATO -- more than 100 instances in the past year. Poland is a member of both organizations.
Despite the ceasefire deal worked out by leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia last Thursday, Polish officials said the Ukraine conflict could reignite and even expand.
“The key to a political and military solution lies in Moscow," Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski told reporters Thursday in Warsaw. "The possibility of a lasting peace still isn't close," he said, suggesting the previous Minsk ceasefire agreement signed last September failed because of "Russian separatists."
http://www.businessinsider.com/poland-military-spending-is-skyrocketing-as-russia-meddles-next-door-2015-2
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Sweden’s prime minister pledged to increase defense spending in response to rising regional tensions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amid the Nordic country’s search for a foreign submarine.
Sweden’s new centre-left government, which is preparing to present its first budget on Thursday, has been placed in an awkward situation by the chase for the submarine – presumed to be Russian – as it is firmly against Nato membership and wants to focus more on co-operation with the UN rather than partnership with the western military alliance.=snip=
Saber rattling around the world. The great world war machine is building back up.
