In Krakow, Poland, on October 3, 2025, soldiers participate in the official celebrations of the 6th Airborne Brigade Day at the Polish Aviation Museum (Picture: Getty)
People in Poland are set to take part in the ‘largest military readiness drive’ in its history since World War Two.
Galvanized by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the neighbouring country now spends more of its GDP on defence than any other Nato member.
It has grown into the alliance’s third-largest military – with around 216,000 personnel – and plans to expand its forces by nearly a third over the nextdecade.
Ramping up efforts to defend against a future attack by Russia, the Polish defence ministry has now announced a training programme to teach up to 400,000 citizens basic military, medical, and cyber-resilience skills by 2027.
Dubbed ‘At Readiness’, the initiative will see voluntary military and crisis-response courses being opened to those willing to take part – from children to retirees.
The pilot phase begins this month, with trainings to be conducted at more than 130 units of the Polish Armed Forces and Territorial Defence Forces.
Polish defence minister Wladysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced the plan on Thursday, saying: ‘We live in the most dangerous times since the end of World War Two.
‘Security begins with each of us. Each of us is called to care for our homeland.
Polish Army soldiers take part in a Lithuanian-Polish Brave Griffin 24/II military exercise near the Suwalki Gap near the Polish border (Picture: AP)
‘A war is raging across our border, acts of sabotage occur in the Baltic Sea, and there is constant struggle in cyberspace.
‘All this drove us over the past six months to design a nationwide defence-training project.’
He added: ‘In November and December alone (…) we will train about 20,000 people in individual training, but the total number…, in terms of all forms of training, is about 100,000 people.’
The chief of Poland’s General Staff, Wieslaw Kukula, said the programme had two primary goals – to strengthen the resilience of its citizens and to boost the availability, readiness, and capacity of reserves.
It was first announced by prime minister Donald Tusk in March to ‘build an army of reservists’ amid heightened security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
What is Poland’s military strength?
Poland has climbed into the top tier of global military powers, placing 21st out of 145 nations in this year’s GlobalFirepower index.
Analysts attribute the strong showing to heavy defence spending, rapid modernisation and its strategic role on Nato’s eastern flank – especially given its shared border with Russia and Belarus.
Population: around 38.7 million (ranked 38th)
Available manpower (aged fit-for service): 18.99 million (ranked 35th)
Defence budget: $48.7 billion (ranked 12th)
Active military personnel: 216,100
Tanks (main battle/armoured): approximately 700
Combat aircraft: around 427
Navy fleet: about 46 ships
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