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Poland will strive to enlarge its armed forces to 500,000 servicemen and work to obtain nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in an address to the Polish parliament on March 7.
Tusk delivered his speech in the wake of a flurry of activity in Europe following US President Donald Trump’s abruptly ending of military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine. The Trump administration’s subsequent hints of a “reset” in Washington’s relations with Russia further has fuelled worries that the US is readying to leave Europe to take care of its own defence against a newly emboldened Russia.
“We must reach for the most modern solutions related to nuclear weapons and the most modern conventional weapons," Tusk told Parliament.
It was not clear if Tusk meant Poland should develop its own nuclear deterrence or – as he said moments earlier – Poland was about to “talk seriously to the French about [their] idea of nuclear umbrella.”
“It is time to look at the latest battlefield technologies more boldly. Conventional means are no longer enough,” Tusk added.
Tusk dropped the verbal A-bomb at the very end of his speech, which he mostly devoted to interpreting Trump’s line on Russia-Ukraine war.
“We are witnessing a major shift in US policy on the war in Ukraine,” Tusk said, adding that “we cannot be offended by [this] reality.”
Instead, the PM said, Poland should assess the situation clearly and know what serves its interest best.
According to Tusk, despite Trump’s lack of predictability, the alliance with the US remains the pillar of Poland’s security, alongside its position in Europe. But, Tusk added, “it is not easy to agree the two now.”
Bordering Russia’s ally Belarus, war-torn Ukraine, and Russia that is “[readying for] a full-scale war in three to four years,” Poland needs to step up the thorough modernisation of its armed forces, including by training all adult men in a system similar to Switzerland’s, Tusk said.
That could give Poland an army of 500,000 servicemen in a time of conflict, consisting of professional troops and well-trained reservists, Tusk said.
But Poland’s future depends greatly on where Ukraine will stand following Trump’s onslaught against it, apparently hand in hand with Russia.
“If Ukraine loses the war or accepts peace, a truce, or capitulation on terms that weaken its sovereignty and make it easier for Putin to gain control over Ukraine, then without question – and we will all agree on this – Poland will find itself in a much more difficult geopolitical situation," Tusk said.
Tusk also mooted Poland’s pulling out from the international conventions banning anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions.
“These are not nice things but the problem is that those who we are afraid of all have them,” Tusk said.
The prime minister said that to meet the plan he outlined Poland should strive to maintain the level of defence expenditure at 5% of GDP next year and in the coming years.
“It will pay off strategically. Not just in the coming few years but in the perspective of decades to come,” Tusk said.
ANOTHER NATO WAR CRIMINAL (LANDMINES)
By AFP
March 7, 2025
Poland is far ahead of its allies in terms of military expenditure, aiming to spend 4.7 percent of its GDP on defence this year - Copyright AFP BASHAR TALEB
Magdalena PACIOREK
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday announced a slew of measures aimed at boosting his country’s defence, including a possible exit from a landmark anti-mines treaty and large-scale military trainings for men.
Poland, a staunch Ukraine ally, has been arming itself heavily as it eyes warily neighbouring Russia and amid calls from US President Donald Trump for European countries to take more responsibility for their own defence.
Warsaw is already far ahead of its allies in terms of military expenditure, aiming to spend 4.7 percent of its GDP on defence this year — and now it mulls new measures.
“We are facing a very serious race, and it is a race for security,” Tusk told the parliament.
“We must be aware that Poland must reach for the most modern possibilities, also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons,” he said, pledging Poland would use “every available opportunity to increase our defence”.
A new military training scheme was intended to be ready by the end of the year “so that every adult man in Poland is trained in case of war,” Tusk announced.
The trainings will turn “those who do not join the army to fully-fledged and valuable soldiers during a conflict,” Tusk said, adding the goal was to have a military reserve force “adequate to potential threats”.
Tusk, who this week has called on Europe to strengthen its defences to win the “arms race” with Moscow, has also backed withdrawing his country from a landmark treaty prohibiting the use of anti-personnel landmines.
“I will recommend a positive opinion for Poland to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention and possibly from the Dublin Convention,” Tusk told lawmakers, referring to treaties on anti-personnel mines and on cluster munitions.
“Let’s face it: it’s not something nice, nothing pleasant. We know that very well,” Tusk said.
“The problem is that in our environment, those we may be afraid of, or those who are at war, they all have it,” he added.
– Constitutional amendment –
Designed to be buried or hidden on the ground, anti-personnel mines often mutilate victims who are not immediately killed and aid groups have decried their long-term impact on civilians.
The Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of landmines.
At least two NATO countries, Finland and Lithuania — both also bordering Russia — have in the past months mulled exiting from the Ottawa Convention.
Lithuania on Thursday has quit the treaty banning cluster bombs citing security concerns over a threat from Moscow, sparking outrage from human rights watchdogs.
Amnesty International called the move “disastrous”, while Human Rights Watch said it was “alarming”, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned it “weakens vital protections for civilians”.
But Tusk brushed off a potential backlash.
“We will not look at anyone. We will not fear anyone’s criticism,” he told the parliament.
Earlier on Friday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said he had submitted an amendment to anchor in the constitution a defence spending mark of four percent of GDP, twice NATO’s current target.
Poland is far ahead of its allies in terms of military expenditure, aiming to spend 4.7 percent of its GDP on defence this year.
The amendment would be “a guarantee that these expenses will actually be carried out,” Duda, allied with the conservative right-wing opposition, told reporters.
Tusk said the proposal should be “analysed very seriously” but did not say if his ruling coalition would back it.
It would need a cross-party support of two-thirds of the lawmakers in the Polish parliament’s lower chamber to enter into force.
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