In eastern Poland, Putin’s war has turned former enemies into friends

Opposition to Russian aggression has helped Poles and Ukrainians put bitter 20th-century history behind them

Patriot missiles ring the airport in the Polish border city of Rzeszow, and US troops have taken over the Holiday Inn opposite the terminal. On its runway, once the preserve of budget carriers, private jets are lined up beside cargo planes crammed with weapons.

The bristling circle of military protection, set up hastily in early spring as the historic town became the world's gateway to the war in Ukraine, is both a shield and a constant reminder of the conflict on its doorstep.