WARSAW, Poland -- NATO member Poland on Thursday is paying tribute to its historic victory over the Red Army by honoring fallen Poles and showing off modern tanks and other equipment that it hopes will deter the threat it sees in modern-day Russia.

A parade featuring Polish troops, joined by soldiers from the United States and other allied nations, will traverse the heart of Warsaw in the early afternoon on Armed Forces Day. The procession will include tanks rolling along a major riverside route and fighter jets soaring overhead.

A portion of Poland's new weaponry has replaced Soviet and Russian-made equipment that was sent to neighboring Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion of its democratic neighbor in 2022. Since Poland freed itself from Moscow's control 35 years ago and subsequently joined NATO, the nation has been committed to modernizing its military.

These modernization efforts gained momentum after Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, and again in 2022. Concerns have heightened along the strategic stretch of NATO's eastern flank, spanning from the Baltic nations to Poland and Romania.

The holiday marks the anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, a pivotal engagement where Polish forces triumphed over advancing Russian Bolshevik forces, halting their westward march.

The war in Ukraine has served as a stark reminder for Poland of the enduring threat it has faced for a long time, situated on the flat plains of central Europe, sandwiched between larger, more powerful — and often aggressive — neighbors.

Even Poland's membership in NATO has not fully alleviated the sense of threat following Russia's attack on Ukraine and the migration crisis that emerged in 2021 along Poland's border with Belarus. Warsaw witnessed a sudden influx that year of large-scale migration from the Middle East and Africa, perceived as a form of hybrid warfare orchestrated by Moscow and Minsk.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz sent a message to soldiers highlighting the holiday as a commemoration of “the most significant achievements of the Polish army, and the cost of independence and liberty.”

“On this day, we honor all the heroes who fought for our nation from the very beginning of our country," he added.

Russia's military action against neighboring Ukraine and the Poland-Belarus border conflict have instilled fear in many Poles about what the Kremlin might do next should it be successful in Ukraine.

Poland entered into an agreement worth $10 billion earlier this week with the U.S. government for the purchase of 96 Apache attack helicopters.

Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the Apaches, equipped with advanced technology, represent a significant step in Poland's military modernization efforts, enabling them to fully utilize Abrams tanks and F-35 aircraft.