BRUSSELS, March 27. /TASS/. Poland is spending billions of euros on the purchase of weapons and is starting to prepare the people for war, Politico reported.
Warsaw is now NATO’s biggest defense spender at 4.7% of GDP, has the EU's largest army, and is spending billions of euros on jets, rockets, tanks, artillery and more.
"Now the frontline state is getting its population ready for war," Politico said.
In early March, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that from 2027 at least 100,000 Poles would undergo military training, the purpose of which he called the creation of an army of reservists.
Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces General Wieslaw Kukula told Politico that Poland doesn't have the strategic depth of some other European countries. "We are neighbors with the Russian Federation and its ally Belarus, so we don’t have a buffer between us and them, and we have only a limited time to prepare and respond," he said.
The details are still being hammered out by the military, which is expected to propose a plan by the end of March, Kukula said.
The training, lasting a few days, will be voluntary and introduce participants to the basics of civil defense, first aid and certain military skills. Civilians looking for more extensive preparation can enroll in a month-long training program, available both in-person and online formats. For those with prior military training, the government is offering specialized refresher courses designed to enhance skills, including firearms proficiency, combat medicine and land navigation.
"The first [goal of the training program] is to improve the availability and quality of reservists," Kukula said. "Currently, the army has a large number of reservists, but their average age is already around 45. If conflict and pressure on Poland persist for an extended period, well-trained reservist resources will be essential to ensure they can operate alongside professional soldiers and the Territorial Defense Forces."
Polls suggest the idea has some popular backing — but it’s far from overwhelming. Over half of Poles support the initiative, while 39% said they'd be willing to participate, according to one survey. Jaroslaw Kraszewski, former commander of Poland’s missile, rocket and artillery land forces, told Radio Zet that the plan was a case of too little, too late. He said that 100,000 reservists a year would be too little, the country should go back to the draft.