Poland increases troops by 300,000 to deter Russia from attacking
(Baonghean.vn) - Over the past ten years, the Polish army has increased from 95,000 to 200,000 people and in the future the country plans to increase its force to 300,000 troops. And defense spending could even reach 4% of GDP - this would be the highest figure among NATO countries.
According to RT news agency on February 13, the Times reported that in less than 10 years, the size of the Polish armed forces has nearly doubled: from 95,000 to 200,000 people. Poland's ultimate goal is an army of 300,000 people. This would make Poland the country with the largest NATO land force in Europe.
Poland plans to increase its tank fleet to 1,600 – more than the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy combined. By 2024, defense spending is expected to rise to more than 3% of GDP, possibly even exceeding 4%. In this case, it would be the highest percentage of defense spending among NATO countries.
Mariusz Blaszczak, a Polish military reform expert, told The Times that Warsaw was doing this to create a certain level of deterrence "to President Putin, who would not want to attack Poland".
Politicians across Europe have expressed concern that three decades of defense spending cuts have left European countries unable to defend themselves without U.S. support. Those concerns were heightened when former U.S. President Donald Trump said he would encourage Russia to attack any European NATO member that failed to meet its military spending commitments.
It is time for other European countries to do their part, says military expert Mariusz Blaszczak.
"I understand that large military spending is a huge budget burden. But we are at such a sensitive moment in the continent's history that no one can doubt that we should not save on defense investment," said Blaszczak.
In particular, the expert assessed, Germany has not contributed enough to collective defense and in recent months has "only pretended to offer military assistance to Ukraine." In Poland, it is often said that Western European neighbors should have foreseen the danger from Russia many years ago.
According to the Times, Poland’s rearmament program began in late 2018, with two main goals. First, they want the United States to become the main guarantor of Poland’s security by doubling defense spending and ordering a large amount of advanced American equipment: 366 M1 Abrams tanks, 486 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, at least 32 F-35 fighter jets.
Second, instead of high-tech and expensive systems, Poland believes that mass is important in land warfare.
“Many experts have argued that modern warfare will be fought primarily in cyberspace or using light infantry and unmanned systems. However, reality has proven that the army remains the most important basic component of the armed forces,” Blaszczak said.
However, the experience of Britain and Germany shows how difficult it is to recruit soldiers in modern Europe. Poland has solved this problem by increasing military pay by 82%, as well as through PR campaigns in which the army speaks to the public, attends picnics, conferences and gives interviews./.
