– You are here so that all of Poland can see the soldiers who are making Poland an impregnable fortress. We are building the East Shield, but this shield alone would not be enough if it weren't for you. Over 200,000 Polish soldiers who are ready to defend Polish land, and who, perhaps even today, are strong enough, numerous enough, and well-armed enough that no one in the world would dare to attack Poland – said Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a roll call on the occasion of National Victory Day.

– We are building a large, Polish, modern army not to march somewhere beyond Poland's borders. We are building this army to effectively defend our borders, and by extension, to effectively defend all of Europe, and Europe sees this too – he continued.

– We are part of NATO. Today, I hear this from our most important allies, from the Americans, the French, the British, the Germans. Today, the Polish army is NATO's most valuable European link. We are setting an example today for all NATO countries on how to act, how to behave, what to do in these difficult times, when wars are raging around us in many parts of the world – he went on to say.

– The Polish state is also a model today for all partners on what to do, how to take the threat seriously, and how to take seriously our obligations arising from allied agreements – he added.