Poland trains citizens in civil defense amid Russia security fears

Poland is turning civil defense into a mass civic duty, training ordinary people in basic safety, survival, medical response and cyber hygiene as officials warn that Russia’s war in Ukraine has made the security environment more dangerous. The new voluntary program, called wGotowości, or “In Readiness,” is the clearest sign yet that preparedness is becoming routine in a country that already spends more on defense than any other NATO member.

The Ministry of National Defence, working with the General Staff, said the nationwide program was designed for people who want practical skills for crisis situations. Officials said the pilot phase would begin on November 22, 2025 and run for five weeks, before expanding to a broader goal of training around 400,000 people in 2026. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in March 2025 that the government wanted 100,000 volunteers to take part in military training each year by 2027, a target that reflects both official anxiety and public demand for instruction.

The scale of Poland’s commitment is already visible in the budget. Reuters reported in September 2025 that Poland had more than doubled defense spending since 2022, rising from 2.2% of economic output to 4.7% in 2025, the highest share in NATO. NATO’s 2025 figures later put Poland at 4.3% of GDP, still the alliance’s top level. The numbers show how deeply the country has internalized the possibility of wider conflict, and how far Warsaw is willing to stretch public finances to match that fear.

The turnout suggests the message is resonating beyond government offices. More than 20,000 Poles signed up for voluntary military training in the first seven months of 2025, and the head of Poland’s Central Military Recruitment Centre expected about 40,000 volunteers to complete military training by year-end, more than double the 16,000 in 2022. In Braniewo, six kilometres from the Russian border, office administrator Agnieszka Jedruszak said she wanted to be able to defend her family and prepare for “a new reality.”

Poland’s shift is also a window into Europe’s political mood. Across NATO’s eastern flank, defense is no longer treated as a distant institutional concern but as a household issue that reaches into jobs, childcare and daily routines. In Poland, civil defense is being normalized because the cost of not preparing now feels higher than the economic strain of preparing too much.