On Saturday, some people from the Kraków area took lessons from the Polish army on how to load a rifle, operate a mortar, use a compass and map, and make fire in adverse conditions. “Train with the army” is the name of the program launched by the Polish Ministry of Defense last year. The taster course lasts eight hours and is offered regularly on Saturdays across the country for everyone between the ages of 15 and 65.
The right-wing Polish government devotes a lot of attention to national defense programmatically, and this has increased significantly again with the Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine. Globally, Poland is among the top 20 countries that spend the most money on defense.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently announced during a visit to the troops in Siedlce in eastern Poland that it should even be four percent of gross domestic product this year. In March 2022, the “Law for the Protection of the Fatherland” was passed, which stipulates that at least three percent of gross domestic product should be invested in defense every year. You already have 1000 K2-tanks and K9– Self-propelled howitzers from Korea as well Himars-missiles and 250 abramstanks ordered from the US for Poland, Morawiecki said. Also further purchases of those produced in Poland AHS Krab Artillery pieces and from Piorun– Missiles are planned. A majority of K2-Panzer should also be manufactured in Poland.
Observers predict bottlenecks in Polish social spending
The rearmament is therefore also very important for Polish industry – the state, however, has to take out loans for the expenditure. Inflation in the country is still very high, around 17 percent, and the złoty is weak compared to the euro. At the same time, the country lacks billions in EU money that is not being paid out due to disputes over the rule of law with the EU Commission. Observers foresee bottlenecks in social spending – an important argument of the PiS in the fight for the upcoming elections in autumn.
In Siedlce, Morawiecki and Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak also accused the opposition of having ruined the army during their government years between 2008 and 2015. However, a look at the statistics of the past 20 years shows that Poland, regardless of the government, has always invested almost two percent of its GDP in defense. The value rose during the PiS government, but only slightly.
In 2022, more would have signed up than since the end of conscription
The Fatherland Law also provides for the expansion of the troops, which are to almost double to 300,000 soldiers within the next seven years. In 2022, more people would have signed up than since the end of conscription in 2010, and almost 14,000 professional soldiers have been recruited, the Ministry of Defense announced last week.
The new so-called voluntary military service is also met with great interest among the population. The one-year commitment includes basic training and specialist training, it is hoped that volunteers will then decide to undertake a longer commitment. In the first year, 16,000 people had already signed up for the service.
A week ago Defense Minister Blaszczak visited a shooting range – he said such facilities should be set up across Poland because it is “very important for young people to acquire shooting skills”. Since 2017, there have been so-called uniform classes in Polish schools, in which young people are prepared for future military service. However, the shooting ranges should also be open to anyone who is interested. The shooting takes place on virtual reality screens, the system was developed in Poland.
At the same time, Poland continues to assure Ukraine of the greatest possible support, with Polish President Andrzej Duda and cabinet members frequently traveling to Kyiv in person. Right at the beginning of the war Poland had supported its Ukrainian neighbors with large supplies to the limit of its possibilities. Already in the spring of 2022 Poland had more than 200 T72-Sent tanks to Ukraine, as well as howitzers, rocket launchers and armament for fighter jets.
To date, the country has handed over about 250 tanks to Ukraine. In 2022 Poland gave up according to media reports more than two billion euros for military support to Ukraine. However, there is no list of military donations as provided by the federal government. Probably also because, unlike the German side, new deliveries are not constantly being added. That should be with the leopard-Change tanks now. Polish and German soldiers prepare Ukrainian soldiers for use on the different models. The training will be a matter of weeks, Defense Minister Blaszczak said on a visit to Kyiv on Friday.