As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on this Saturday, 14 September, NATO member Poland is experiencing a surge of public anxiety and action. According to Reuters, over 20,000 Poles have already enrolled in voluntary military training during the first seven months of 2025, with officials predicting that number will exceed 40,000 by year’s end—more than double the figure recorded in 2022.
Tensions spiked this week when Poland shot down Russian drones that breached its airspace, marking the first time in three and a half years of war that a NATO member has engaged Russian hardware directly. In Braniewo, just six kilometres from the Russian border, 36-year-old office worker and mother Agnieszka Jędruszak, clad in camouflage and digging a trench, said: “I would fight to protect my son.” Poland has more than doubled its defence spending to 4.7% of GDP and continues to procure advanced K-2 tanks from South Korea.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk is urging European leaders to take greater responsibility for the continent’s defence, while Donald Trump’s reluctance to reaffirm U.S. security guarantees has heightened European fears. For Poland, with its painful history of Soviet domination, Moscow’s growing aggression is viewed as an existential threat.
