Six kilometres from the Russian border, office administrator Agnieszka Jedruszak was recently seen digging a trench, her face painted in camouflage and her fatigues covered in dust. For the 36-year-old mother of one, fears of war with Russia have driven her to sign up for voluntary military training to learn how to defend her family.
“I’d do anything to keep my child safe. And I would definitely want to fight to protect him,” she said, echoing the concerns of thousands of Poles who have joined similar programmes.
Poland has witnessed a surge in voluntary enlistment amid rising tensions with Moscow. More than 20,000 people signed up for training in the first seven months of 2025, according to Colonel Grzegorz Wawrzynkiewicz, head of the Central Military Recruitment Centre.
He expects around 40,000 volunteers to complete training by year’s end, more than double the number in 2022.
The renewed urgency comes after Poland intercepted Russian drones in its airspace this week, the first known NATO country to fire shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Moscow has dismissed Western concerns, accusing NATO states of “emotional overload.”
Poland, long scarred by decades under Soviet domination, has responded by massively ramping up defence investments. Since 2022, Warsaw has doubled its military spending to 4.7% of GDP, the highest ratio in NATO, surpassing Germany, France, and Britain.
The country now fields NATO’s third-largest army, with 216,000 personnel, and plans to expand by nearly a third in the next decade.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has urged Europe to shoulder more responsibility for its defence, particularly after Donald Trump’s return to the White House reignited doubts over U.S. security guarantees.
Poland has already begun relocating troops eastward and building a 400-mile “East Shield” barrier along its frontier with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave.
At Braniewo, where Jedruszak trained alongside South Korean K-2 tanks purchased in 2022, volunteers are taught trench warfare, logistics, and survival skills. The programme does not bind participants to active service but offers pathways into the professional army, reserves, or Poland’s Territorial Defence Forces.
Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said the initiative was crucial for readiness: “When there’s a war or near-war threat, it’s the most basic things that count: fuel, ammunition, and people.”
Poland’s drive stands in stark contrast to recruitment struggles in Western Europe. Germany’s Bundeswehr remains below target strength, and Britain’s full-time army has shrunk to its smallest size in centuries. Analysts note that Eastern Europeans, with fresh memories of Soviet rule, are more willing to prepare for conflict.
“Every conflict shows one thing: the reserves always win,” said Colonel Pawel Wronka of the Polish General Staff.
With NATO estimating that Russia could be ready for confrontation with the West within a few years, Poland is racing to prepare. “We’re ready to face the kind of threat that is real today,” said Deputy Defence Minister Pawel Zalewski. “And we’re preparing for the threat that will be real tomorrow.”
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
