The armed forces recruited 13,742 new professional soldiers last year – a record since the abolition of military service.
In the context of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Poland is registering a growing interest in serving in the army. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in Lublin on Saturday that the armed forces managed to recruit 13,742 new professional soldiers last year. “It’s a record since military service was abolished.” The last time conscripts were called up in Poland was in 2008, and shortly thereafter military service was suspended.
Blaszczak went on to say that the Polish armed forces currently number 164,000 troops, including 36,000 members of voluntary internal security associations. Poland, an EU and NATO country, is massively arming itself against a threat from Moscow. In the coming years, the army is expected to grow to 250,000 professional soldiers and 50,000 homeland security personnel. In order to attract more citizens to the armed forces, Poland introduced basic voluntary military service. Since last fall, there have also been one-day military training courses for interested citizens across the country.
(APA/dpa)