Poland’s government said Thursday that the country, a neighbour to Ukraine and Russia, plans to train up to 500,000 volunteers by the end of next year to strengthen its defensive capabilities.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO and EU member Poland has doubled down on defence as it seeks to deter foreign aggression.

Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the goal of the new training programme was to prepare the country and its citizens in case of further escalation.

Dubbed “Always Prepared”, it is geared towards “all Polish citizens who seek to benefit from it”, he told a press conference.

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The programme will involve both individual and group sessions, “meant for younger people, even those in primary or middle school, as well as for workers and business, and even for senior citizens”, the minister added.

The government aims to train 100,000 people by the end of this year and “approximately 400,000” more by the end of 2026, according to Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk.

Those who are interested will be able to sign up for training sessions through an official government mobile application, which is widely used in Poland.

The programme will include existing training sessions and new initiatives designed to “strengthen national defence and social resilience”, the deputy minister said.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said that in 2022, “the people of Ukraine were caught off guard. Over the four years of war, they have acquired these skills. But at the time the war broke out, these crisis response skills were lacking. We must be prepared for any scenario.”

He noted that next year, Poland’s defence budget will reach a record figure of 4.8 percent of its GDP.

AFP

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