Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Raimund Andrzejak, and the commander of operational forces, General Tomasz Piotrowski, have submitted their resignations due to a conflict with the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Mariusz BÅ‚aszczak. This was reported by Rzeczpospolita on Tuesday, October 10th.
The media notes that when information about a Russian missile landing near Bydgoszcz emerged, Mariusz BÅ‚aszczak publicly accused Tomasz Piotrowski of negligence. Since then, the role of the Operational Command was marginalized. BÅ‚aszczak avoided working with the operational commander and directed tasks directly to the General Command of the Armed Forces.
The Operational Command was not involved in the formation of the military operational group "Podlachia" to strengthen the Polish-Belarusian border after information that members of the Wagner PMC had crossed the border with Belarus.
The Ministry of Defense of Poland decided to deploy 10,000 soldiers to the border, and this task was assigned to the General Command of the Armed Forces. Additionally, it was the General Command that was responsible for the evacuation of Poles from Israel, even though this should have been the responsibility of the Operational Command according to formal roles.
The decision by the generals to submit their resignations was also influenced by the use of the army in the election campaign. This included a video by "Law and Justice" in which Mariusz BÅ‚aszczak released documents related to the country's defense operation plans. The plan, approved back in 2011, aimed to stop the enemy "on the furthest sections of the Vistula and Wieprz rivers."
In the evening of October 10, President of Poland Andrzej Duda appointed new top commanders of the Armed Forces. General Wiesław Kukuła became the new Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces.
WiesÅ‚aw KukuÅ‚a became the new Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (photo Dowództwo Generalne).
Major General Maciej Klisz was appointed as the new Operational Commander of the Armed Forces.
Maciej Klisz became the new Operational Commander of the Armed Forces branches
During the ceremony at the Presidential Palace, the President stated that the newly appointed commanders of the Polish Armed Forces are ready to serve the country during its most challenging moments in history. Maciej Klisz previously served as the commander of the Territorial Defense Forces, and Wiesław Kukuła was the Commander of the branches of the Armed Forces.
