Poland must prepare its soldiers for a full-scale conflict, the chief of staff of its armed forces said on Wednesday, as the country increases the number of troops on the border with Russia and Belarus, Reuters reports.
Poland’s relations with Russia and its ally Belarus have significantly deteriorated since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into neighboring Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting a war that is still ongoing.
“Today, we must prepare our forces for a full-scale conflict, not an asymmetric-type conflict,” said Chief of Army Staff General Wieslaw Kukula at a press conference. “This forces us to find a good balance between the border mission and maintaining the intensity of training in the army,” he added.
Speaking at the same event, Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda said that starting in August, the number of troops guarding Poland’s eastern border will increase to 8,000 from the current 6,000, with an additional 9,000 on standby to be mobilized within 48 hours.
In May, Poland announced the details of “East Shield,” a 10 billion zloty ($2.5 billion) program to strengthen defenses along its border with Belarus and Russia, planning to complete the plans by 2028.
The border with Belarus has been a hotspot since migrants began pouring in there in 2021, after Belarus opened travel agencies in the Middle East, offering a new unofficial route to Europe – a move the European Union said was designed to create a crisis.
Warsaw has increased defense spending to more than 4 percent of its economic output this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
General Kukula also said that the current high interest among candidates to join the military poses a dilemma on whether to accept more recruits than the budget allows for military equipment procurement, especially as interest is expected to start declining significantly from 2027.
The number of armed forces was around 190,000 at the end of last year, including land, air, naval, special forces, and territorial defense forces. Poland plans to increase this number to 300,000 troops within a few years.
Source: Botasot
