By Olha Hembik | 2025-10-20

WARSAW -- When air raid sirens wailed across Warsaw last month, they didn't signal a memorial or a drill. They signaled danger.

On September 10, 19 Russian drones breached Polish airspace, prompting NATO forces to shoot them down -- the first time allied weapons have been used against Russian drones on NATO territory. Authorities pushed emergency alerts to citizens' phones, warning of falling debris as the drones were intercepted.

The incident marked a turning point. In classrooms across Poland, children once taught to honor the sound of sirens as a nod to World War II heroes are now taught to treat them as a cue to act, and quickly.

To help civilians prepare, Poland's Government Center for Security has published a "Crisis and War Guide," available on its official website. The guide outlines how to respond to various emergencies -- from shelling to power outages -- and is written in clear, accessible language even young students can understand.

Rising threats

The new guide warns that threats have "substantially grown" in recent years, citing disinformation, cyberattacks, sabotage and the war across the eastern border as factors destabilizing the country.

The guide explains how to respond to alarms, interpret audio warnings and prepare for scenarios such as shelling, contamination, power outages and hostage situations. It also covers first aid, staying calm, countering disinformation and even packing an "evacuation backpack," complete with illustrated checklists.

The government plans to distribute 13 million printed copies to households early next year, though some schools have already begun using the guide in class.

Maria Koval (not her real name), a Ukrainian refugee in Warsaw, posted photos of the guide online after her seventh-grade son brought it home from school. She told Kontur the material initially triggered panic, reminding her of 2022, but she later viewed it as essential knowledge for today's world.

"It would have been good if we had received instructions like this in our school in Kyiv before the full-scale invasion," she said. "We would have panicked less."

Her son's class reviewed the evacuation backpack section with an adviser during school hours.

Online discussions

Russian drone attacks left a strong impression on the Polish state and public, said Oleksandr Pestrikov, an expert at the Ukrainian House in Warsaw. He praised efforts to inform the population and coordinate civil defense between local and central authorities.

"People are buying 'emergency backpacks' and downloading the government handbooks," Pestrikov told Kontur. "They want to know where the bomb shelters are."

Online discussions have surged around how to respond in wartime -- whether to enlist, evacuate or volunteer.

Pestrikov pointed to the Ministry of National Defense's Train with the Army program, which has offered civilians basic military training for 15 years. High school students can take part in eight-hour, hands-on sessions covering first aid, shelter survival, responding to alarms and skills such as shooting, grenade throwing and hand-to-hand combat.

More than 31,000 Poles have completed the training, according to the government.

No panicking

Mykhailo Strelnikov, founder of the Museum of Victory over Despotism in Poland, said he sees no systematic effort to prepare Polish schoolchildren for potential threats from the east.

Unlike in Ukraine, where the Education Ministry issues directives, Polish school heads consult parents before introducing new subjects, he told Kontur. As a result, military training in schools remains rare and dependent on parental support.

"Very few schools have agreed to introduce this subject into their classrooms," Strelnikov said, noting that Poles are showing little appetite for learning how to combat new threats because they are unaware of just how consequential they are.

"Remember that in the summer and fall of 2021, when there was already information out there about preparations for a Russian aggression, a portion of the population in Ukraine took it rather lightly," Pestrikov recalled. "Now we're seeing something similar happening in Poland."

Still, Strelnikov said there's "nothing at all resembling panic" and doesn't believe the country is preparing for war.

The information war

Poland may be preparing for conventional war, but a hybrid war is already underway, said Pestrikov. He warned that disinformation spreading on social media poses a greater threat than public complacency.

"There are people who consistently push anti-system propaganda, saying that the war is exclusively a business, that Poland isn't prepared to defend itself, and that any conflict with Russia will lead to quick and inevitable defeat. And if Russia attacks, it's only because Ukraine forced it to attack Poland," he said.

Pestrikov added that Ukrainian refugees are often manipulated in these discussions because they aren't citizens and wouldn't be subject to mobilization.

Strelnikov said the country is losing the information war against Russia. He cited a September report by Res Futura that analyzed social media sentiment on the day of the Russian drone attack.

According to the report, 38% of users blamed Ukraine for the incursion, 34% blamed Russia, 15% blamed the Polish government, 8% blamed the media and 5% blamed NATO and the West.

"In addition to preparing for potential threats and teaching children [how to combat them], the [Polish] state now needs to gather all its resources for a war on propaganda," Strelnikov said.