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WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Poland is planning a major realignment of itsmilitary structure because of the conflict in neighboring Ukraine, thecountry's defense minister said Monday, a move that could shift thousands oftroops to its eastern border.
"The geopolitical situation has changed. We have the biggest crisis ofsecurity since the Cold War and we must draw conclusions from that," PolishDefense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told The Associated Press.
Although Poland joined NATO in 1999, most of its 120,000-member army isbased along the country's western border, as a relic of its former status asa Soviet bloc member.
That is going to change, Siemoniak said, adding that at least three militarybases in the east will increase from the current 30 percent of capacity toalmost 90 percent by the end of 2017. That's a potential increase ofthousands of troops, although Siemoniak wouldn't specify a precise overallfigure.
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