Suspected espionage: Poland appoints new commander of the European Legion

After the commander was suddenly replaced due to espionage investigations, the former deputy chief of the Polish General Staff will now command the corps in Strasbourg.

After the sudden replacement of the commander of the European Corps in Strasbourg, Poland appointed a successor. In the future, General Piotr Blasius will lead the Legion, the Ministry of Defense in Warsaw announced on Wednesday evening on the X platform (formerly Twitter). He succeeds the former Deputy Chief of the Polish General Staff, Lieutenant General Jaroslaw Gromadzinski. He had previously been summoned due to counterintelligence investigations against him.

Gromadzinski was ordered to return to his home country with immediate effect. Details of the investigation are not yet known.

Gromadzinski maintains his innocence

Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kuciniak-Kamysh told TVN24 on Thursday that the allies had been informed of Gromadzinski's recall “with appropriate advance notice.” “It is not a charge to anyone if you take such an action, but the separation step is necessary.” Now it's a matter of clarifying the matter before making the final decision. If the suspicions against Gromadzinski prove to be unfounded, he can return to “normal service,” Kociniak-Kamish continued.

Gromadzinski himself emphasized that he has nothing to blame himself for, and believes that the review process will have a positive outcome for him. “During my work in leadership positions at home and abroad, as well as in cooperation with NATO allies, I always represented the uniform of a Polish soldier with dignity,” he wrote on the X website.

Eurocorps is ready for NATO and EU operations

The European Legion was created in 1993 at the initiative of then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President François Mitterrand. Today up to 60 thousand soldiers from Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg can submit to it. It is valid for both NATO and the European Union. The military command is stationed in Strasbourg. (APA/DPA)