On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz is in Brussels, where he is taking part in a meeting of NATO defense ministers, a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in the defense-ministers’ configuration, and a series of accompanying side events.
Photos: Wojciech Król/MON
“The first panel dealt with deterrence capabilities, NATO strategy, plans, and — importantly for us, and what I emphasized in my remarks — the Eastern Sentry operation, established at Poland’s request after the violations of our airspace. We believe this operation should not only be an activity but a permanent, highly planned multi-stage effort linked with Baltic Sentry; the two operations Poland initiated are part of a lasting NATO strategy. (…) The second issue concerned support for Ukraine, and Poland has been providing that support from day one of the conflict in Ukraine. Our very important mission, which is appreciated by allied countries, is transfer, security, and the participation of our soldiers and all services in the transfer of equipment and humanitarian aid. Without Poland, this operation could not function,” emphasized Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz in Brussels.
During the visit the defense minister met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“I just had a very important meeting, and that’s probably what I want to say most about. A moment ago I finished a meeting with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. This is my third meeting with him during his term, which began in January this year. I don’t think any other NATO minister has had as many opportunities to talk. We reaffirmed the allied commitments between the United States and Poland. Once again I want to convey thanks to all our compatriots for their contribution to defense, for spending nearly 5% on defense, for being a leader — as Pete Hegseth told me — in defense, a leader of the alliance in Europe for our actions. We confirmed relations at the highest level and also the deployment of U.S. troops in Poland and the enhancement of capabilities. We have just completed the joint Iron Defender exercises, which the U.S. Ambassador to NATO participated in. I also shared with the secretary the information and lessons learned from those joint exercises. (…) A stable U.S. troop presence in Poland has also been confirmed,” the defense minister said.
The agenda of meetings in Brussels covers key issues related to European and transatlantic security.
Discussions are focused on the Eastern Sentry operation, which aims to protect the Alliance’s eastern flank and to provide continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. Investment in defense and the SAFE program, of which Poland is the largest beneficiary, receiving nearly one-third of the total funds, will also be addressed. Other topics include the construction of a “drone wall” as an element of border and critical-infrastructure protection and measures to counter hybrid threats.
Before the start of the main proceedings, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz met with UK Defence Secretary John Healey to discuss bilateral cooperation to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities. The defense minister also held talks with his counterparts from Portugal and Germany.
