Polish President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda visited the air base in Ämari, Estonia, where a Christmas Eve meeting was held with Polish airmen who are stationed there. The Polish presidential couple was accompanied by Estonian President Alar Karis and his wife.

The meeting was attended by soldiers of the Polish Military Contingent (PKW) Orlik, who have been stationed in Estonia since early December.

PKW Orlik is the Polish contribution to the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission. Polish airmen, together with contingents from other allied countries, have been rotating since 2005 to participate in patrolling and protecting the airspace of the Baltic States, which do not have their own combat aviation.

During the meeting, the President offered his best wishes to all soldiers and officers who are on duty, including in contingents outside Poland. According to the President’s Office, Andrzej Duda stressed that “the service, which takes place far from one’s hometown, is extremely difficult”.

“Please accept our special respects, thanks and wishes in this pre-Christmas time, that Christmas may be peaceful for you, despite the remoteness, the various risks you are often in, may it brings peace to your hearts and to your souls”, said Andrzej Duda.

He pointed out that soldiers perform an extremely important service for the country’s security, including in the face of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the hybrid attacks conducted for more than two years on our eastern border.

“Thank you for your solidarity and allied service. It is an extremely important task and a beautiful representation of the Republic”, he said.

He assured that, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, he would watch over the affairs of all Polish soldiers.

Adrian Andrzejewski