Poland aims to offer military training to 100,000 adults a year

WARSAW: Poland hopes to offer military training to 100,000 civilians a year starting in 2027, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, outlining a large-scale scheme to expand the country´s army reserves.

A staunch ally of Ukraine, Poland has been arming itself heavily and warily eyeing neighbouring Russia, amid demands by US President Donald Trump for European countries to take more responsibility for their own defence.

On Friday, Tusk announced a new military training scheme designed to ensure that every adult man in Poland is trained “in case of war” and the nation has a military reserve force able to counter “potential threats”. “In 2027, we will be able to train 100,000 volunteers per year,” Tusk told reporters on Tuesday, adding that he wanted the drills to be “as widely available as possible”.

Currently, around 35,000 Poles undergo basic military training each year as part of voluntary military service. “Anyone who is interested and is between 18 and 60 will receive detailed information on how to complete the training course,” Tusk said.

The scheme -- open to both men and women -- will be voluntary but the authorities plan a system of “motivations and incentives”, Tusk said. “For example, providing those interested with the opportunity to complete a professional driving licence course, including for heavy goods vehicles,” he explained. “This will be useful in the event of war,” he added. Tusk also said on X that members of the Polish government and its officials “will also undergo training. A voluntary one.”