Andrzej Duda was accompanied by Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and the US ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, state news agency PAP reported.
‘Allies are looking after our security’
Duda told a media briefing near the northeastern Polish town of Nowogród: “We are all familiar with the situation in Ukraine and we all realise the potential threat - these exercises are designed to show the readiness and interoperability of allied forces in collective defence.”
He added: “Hopefully this demonstrates to all my compatriots that our allies are looking after our security, the security of NATO countries, including Poland."
'Interoperability of allied troops'
Meanwhile, Błaszczak, the Polish defence minister, said that the Defender Europe 2022 exercises showed “the interoperability of allied troops and the importance attached by allies to the security of NATO’s eastern flank.”
‘We are ready’
Brzezinski, the US ambassador, said that the extensive manoeuvres sent a powerful message that “we are ready.”
He added this meant that US and European forces were standing shoulder to shoulder with the Polish people and that Poland's security was “sacrosanct” to NATO.
Thursday’s instalment of the Defender Europe 2022 drills near Nowogród featured troops from Poland, the United States and France, as well as NATO partner Sweden.
Earlier this week, Sweden applied to join the Western military alliance, alongside Finland, in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thursday was day 85 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl, nato.int