Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak says his government is seeking to obtain Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States or another country.
Siemoniak said on Polish Radio on March 12 that he would like to have Tomahawk missiles on three submarines that Poland is planning to purchase by the year 2030.
"We are asking everyone who is able to deliver such weapons, also our American partners," Siemoniak said.
Siemoniak also said some 10,000 NATO soldiers will take part in military exercises in Poland this year, among them around 5,000 members of a newly created spearhead force that is the centerpiece of NATO rapid-reaction forces.
Poland is concerned about the conflict in eastern Ukraine that involves its neighbors, Ukraine and Russia.
Poland's professional army has some 85,000 officers and troops and another 20,000 reservists.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Ukrainian officials say an explosion occurred in the southern city of Odesa near a political party's office.
An Interior Ministry spokesman in Odesa said on March 12 that the blast at the Admiraltesky business center has been classified as a terrorist attack.
No one was injured in the blast, which occurred early on March 12.
The political party Samopomich (Self-Reliance), which is part of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's government, has an office in the business center.
The facade of the building and the party office were damaged by the explosion.
The blast is the latest in a series of blasts in Odesa that began in December, all at buildings that house organizations aiding those fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
There have been similar blasts in Kharkiv, a large eastern city under government control.
An explosion at the Odesa office of the nationalist organization Right Sector occurred on March 5.
An excerpt:
KIEV, Ukraine — The guns haven't quite gone quiet but with a fragile cease-fire in Ukraine, the key question being asked these days in Kiev, Brussels and Washington boils down to this: What is Russia's next move?
Western leaders say Moscow has fueled the conflict by first covertly invading and annexing the Crimean peninsula a year ago and then backing separatists in Ukraine's east with cash and weapons.
Russia has denied direct involvement in the year-long conflict which, so far, has cost the lives of more than 6,000 people, according to the United Nations.
But corpses of Russian soldiers coming back from the front in body bags and the presence of Russian weapons and military equipment on the Ukrainian side of the border strongly suggests that Moscow has sent military forces to fight in Ukraine.
The U.S. estimates as many as 12,000 Russian troops are presently operating inside Ukraine. Areport released this week reveals just how massive Russia's military intervention in Ukraine really is, even listing specific units.
So what happens next?
Read more here.
Poland to hold countrywide defence drills - president's adviser
By Wiktor Szary
WARSAW, March 12 (Reuters) - Poland will stress-test its defence capabilities with a series of countrywide drills involving the government, local authorities and the military in response to the Ukraine crisis, Polish president's chief security adviser said.
A former eastern bloc country which became a NATO member in 1999, Poland is concerned that Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in Ukraine may be a foretaste of it reasserting itself in the rest of Eastern Europe.
Since the beginning of the crisis, Polish politicians have regularly called for increasing NATO's military presence in the region. Poland has also speeded up its army modernisation programme, worth an estimated $33 billion.
Poland will assess its overall readiness for a potential military conflict, General Stanislaw Koziej, head of National Security Bureau told Reuters in an interview authorised for release on Thursday, with drills likely to begin in the second half of this year.
"It is a whole series of exercises, aimed at testing ... all of the state's elements - the government, ministers, regional governors, local councils, boroughs - in a time of crisis and war," said Koziej, who advises President Bronislaw Komorowski on security.
"These elements - including a candidate for wartime commander-in-chief, who should be appointed soon - need to be trained."
Koziej said Russia was waging an "information war" on the West. "Without a doubt, Poland is already a target of Russian aggression in that respect ... It involves television channels, radio stations, activities of various (Internet) trolls on social networks."
"These are not spontaneous, individual activities, it's a coordinated and organised action, a managed campaign" he said.
Asked whether Poland was ready to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons, Koziej, who this month said arming Ukrainian forces was in the interest of Europe and Poland, said no decision had been made.
"Such talks are ongoing, the Ministry of National Defence frequently hosts Ukrainian representatives and experts."
"There are intensive talks on different levels, but ... decisions will be made only after the issue is thoroughly examined by the Polish and Ukrainian sides," Koziej said, adding that Poland was considering selling the weapons, but also in some cases supplying them for free.
This month, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski told Reuters Ukraine's economy was starting to disintegrate, creating a risk of hundreds of thousands of immigrants flowing into Poland.
That risk was real, but not large, Koziej said, adding that Poland had to be prepared for being neighbours with a country that could be "barely functioning".
"Last year, we conducted special exercises, which tested ... whether we are ready for a potential influx of refugees. In this respect we are prepared for various scenarios."