It’s easy to think of the invasion of Ukraine through the lens of cold-war American-Russian competition, with Washington having been one of the first to announce substantial weapon shipments and financial support for Ukraine from February onward. But support for Ukraine has been a pan-European affair, with some nations going to extraordinary lengths when contrasted with their limited resources. The Baltic and many Eastern European nations stand out in this regard for the willingness they’ve shown to dig deep into their military reserves in order to get hardware into Ukrainian hands. In terms of volumes for key heavy equipment like tanks and mobile rocket and artillery systems, Poland stands out as a critical source. Warsaw has emerged as one of Ukraine’s staunchest advocates, shipping tanks by the hundred, and allowing its territory to be converted into a logistical hub while opening its doors to Ukrainians by the millions. In this video I try to give historical context to Poland’s decision to throw its resources behind Ukraine and put focus on what this nation, with an economy nominally the size of New Jersey’s (ppp-aside), has done to keep the Ukrainian army fighting while preserving the lives and wellbeing of millions of Ukrainian civilians. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PerunAUTimestamps:00:00:00 – For our freedom and yours: Poland and the Ukraine War 00:00:57 – Ukraine’s most important allies (by GDP figures) 00:01:33 – America has limits 00:03:02 – What am I covering? 00:03:43 – History of Polish-Russian relations 00:05:04 – History: Destruction of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 00:08:36 – History: Partition and occupation 00:11:12 – History: “The Red Flag” – the Polish-Soviet war (1918) 00:12:13 – History: “The Red Flag” – Soviets are back (1939) 00:14:28 – Poland’s strategic situation 00:15:56 – The Stakes for Poland 00:17:52 – Poland’s Support: Civilians 00:20:29 – Poland’s Support: Arms 00:21:53 – Poland’s Support: Armoured Vehicles 00:23:14 – Poland’s Support: Small Arms 00:25:30 – Poland’s Support: Artillery & Ordnance 00:27:49 – Poland’s Support: Scale 00:29:14 – Poland’s Support: Logistics 00:33:21 – Russian retribution 00:34:52 – Why does all this matter 00:37:58 – What could have been 00:40:25 – Poland’s Military transformation 00:43:49 – Poland’s post-war possibilities 00:47:29 – Summary 00:48:59 – Channel update