On Saturday, August 15, 2026, Poland celebrated Armed Forces Day with the largest and most expensive military parade in its modern history. This grand display of power, held simultaneously on the streets of Warsaw and in the waters of the Baltic Sea, aims to cement Poland's status as Europe's primary military bastion on NATO's eastern flank. The event was not merely a celebration but a report to the international community on Warsaw's readiness for scenarios that recently seemed apocalyptic.
«Hussars» in the Sky, Abrams on the Ground, and Billions from the EU
Warsaw deployed an unprecedented column: 1,800 soldiers, over 300 units of heavy machinery, and approximately 60 aircraft and helicopters. The main sensation of the air segment was the first public flight of three new American fifth-generation F-35A Hussar fighters, which arrived in Poland in May as part of a $4.6 billion deal. Along the Vistula embankment, American Abrams tanks, Patriot and HIMARS systems, German Leopards, as well as long-range Polish Krab howitzers and Gladius reconnaissance-strike UAVs also passed by.
Synchronously, a naval parade took place in the Gulf of Gdańsk off the coast of Gdynia, involving more than 20 warships, including frigates and corvettes. As analysts note, this triumph served as a report to Brussels: the purchases were financed by a record defense loan from the EU under the SAFE program totaling €43.7 billion, the first tranche of which Poland utilized in early summer. Prime Minister Donald Tusk, accepting the parade, concisely expressed the country's new military doctrine: «Only the strongest will avoid war».
Political Demarche: Kyiv Left Without an Invitation
However, behind the display of allied unity (units from the USA, France, Canada, and Sweden participated in the parade) lies a deep crisis in relations with the nearest neighbor. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine officially confirmed that Ukrainian military personnel did not receive an invitation to the parade in Warsaw. This came as a shock to many observers, considering that in previous years, soldiers of the joint LithPolUkrBryg participated in the parade, and Ukrainian pilots were invited to the recent parade in Paris.
Contradictory Data
Warsaw consciously took this step against the backdrop of an exacerbated historical and political dispute. According to closed polls by the IBRiS agency, a third of Poles worsened their attitude towards Ukraine after one of the Ukrainian brigades received an honorary name in honor of the UPA, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy was deprived of the highest Polish award — the Order of the White Eagle. Striving to maintain ratings within the country, Tusk's government preferred to distance itself from the Ukrainian agenda on the main national holiday, focusing exclusively on its own defense self-sufficiency.
