President appoints new commander of armed forces

President Andrzej Duda has appointed General Wiesław Kukuła, until recently commander of Poland's Territorial Defence Force (WOT), the new commander-in-chief of the Polish Armed Forces.

General Kukuła will replace General Jarosław Mika.

President Duda also appointed General Maciej Klisz as the new commander of Poland's Territorial Defence Force (WOT), a post vacated by Kukuła at the end of 2022.

Addressing the gathering, President Duda said that the Polish army had to be well-equipped, well-trained, efficient, strong and organised in order "to deter every potential aggressor."

"This is a huge task which is now being implemented and whose implementation must never stop," Duda said.

The two newly-appointed commanders will assume their duties on Tuesday, February 7.

Klisz was Kukuła's former second-in-command and has been WOT's acting commander since Kukuła's departure.

Kukuła commanded the WOT force from 2016. In earlier years he served with Polish units in Iraq and commanded a special forces unit.