By Olha Hembik and AFP | 2025-03-25

WARSAW -- As a steadfast ally of Ukraine, Poland is taking steps to boost its own defenses.

The Polish government is working to expand its volunteer military training program to enable 100,000 volunteers to take part in it annually by 2027. Presently about 35,000 do every year.

"These voluntary military training sessions should be as widely accessible as possible," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a Cabinet meeting March 11, outlining a large-scale scheme to expand the country's army reserves.

"The most important thing for us is that everyone interested can participate in such training no later than 2026," he said. "And that is a difficult task, but I know it is doable. There is no shortage of people willing to serve the homeland."

The state's capacity needs to be significantly expanded so that everyone interested in training can do it, Tusk said.

"I have just informed the ministers that government members and their officials will also undergo training on a volunteer basis. This was met with full understanding," he wrote on X.

'A positive development'

Many Poles "don't want to believe that the war could reach them," said Piotr Kaszuwara, a Polish war correspondent and founder of the Fundacja Przyszłość dla Ukrainy UA Future.

Humanitarian aid work often takes Kaszuwara to the Russia-Ukraine conflict zone.

"In 2022, when the full-scale war started in Ukraine, the government did a study, which found that only about 15% of Poles were willing to defend the country," Kaszuwara told Kontur.

He explained these findings as a reflection of natural human unwillingness to acknowledge a threat.

"It's unfortunate that few understood that if a war were to reach us and we're not prepared or trained, that's when we would really be threatened with mortal danger," he said.

However, a poll by the IBRiS Institute published by the daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita March 11 showed 55% of respondents backed reinstating the draft.

Poland dropped mandatory conscription for men in 2008. The training will not lead to a draft as the government does not plan to restore compulsory service.

"It's a positive development that new threats have awakened Polish politicians," said Jerzy Mazur of Łódź, a military analyst and retired Polish army officer who served in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo.

"They've finally grasped that the most reliable solution is to count on yourself and no one else."

"Poland understands clearly that along with training reservists, it needs to invest in ... air defense systems and in building shelters because we don't have any," Mazur told Kontur. "We'll need to focus on protecting the coast [of the Baltic Sea] from the Królewiec [Kaliningrad] side and on [protecting] the Suwałki Gap."

Cognizant of new threats, Poland is working on building the East Shield deterrence and defense system, which is designed to protect European Union borders and NATO's eastern flank.

Incentives to volunteer

The prime minister's office has pledged to provide detailed information on training to willing volunteers between the ages of 18 and 60.

In addition to basic military training, there will be specialized courses adapted to various social and professional groups.

For example, a course on driving trucks could be an additional incentive for signing up for military training. Authorities will accentuate skills related to civil defense.

"The war in Ukraine has made it clear -- there is a need for a whole range of specialists. This applies primarily to the most advanced technologies but also to local threats, where more civil defense specialists are needed," Tusk said.

Basic military training in Poland lasts for one month and ends with a military oath.

About 35,000 Poles per year complete this training as part of voluntary military service. They all receive a monthly salary of 6,000 PLN (€1,435).

"Every individual will be able to make a decision, except when it comes to establishing reserves or conscripting troops," Cezary Tomczyk, the deputy defense minister, told Polsat News March 11.

"We want every Pole to have the opportunity to undergo military training in different forms," he said.

Building an army of reservists

The government plans to provide an online platform where Poles can choose a type of training and the date they want to do it.

During in-person learning at military bases, trainees will spend several weeks learning how to use weapons and administer first aid.

Weekend training will accommodate workers, while summer training will accommodate students. There will also be civil defense courses teaching trainees how to respond to crises and threats.

The trainings will draw on the potential and expertise of Polish veterans: those who once served as commandos in Lubliniec or who belonged to GROM special forces.

Officials will develop the program through cooperation with allies and among other things will capitalize on the Ukrainian army's combat experience.

"We must build, in effect, an army of reservists," Tusk said at the cabinet session.

'Never trust the Russians'

The first training courses under the new program are expected to start next year -- which is too long to wait, according to some analysts.

"This training is a great initiative. The only unfortunate thing -- and I think this is a mistake -- is that we'll be waiting so long for it to start," Kaszuwara said.

"I think it should start as soon as possible, and every Pole should be trained so we don't repeat what happened to Ukraine."

European countries have already started to prepare for confrontation with Russia because they "understand that war could come to Europe in a few years," said Mikhailo Strelnikov, who spearheaded the creation of the Museum of Victory over Despotism.

"In addition to a professional army, Poland needs military training for all residents to teach them how to use weapons and make sure they know how to respond to military threats," he told Kontur.

"When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the majority of Poles already realized that it could touch them too," he said.

"The Poles have never trusted the Muscovites. The entire 700-year history of proximity and despotism demonstrates that you can never trust the Russians under any circumstances."