FILE PHOTO: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks to the media on the day of a European Union leaders special summit to discuss Ukraine and European defence, in Brussels, Belgium March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday the government wants to launch a new programme to offer voluntary military training from next year, with a target to train 100,000 volunteers in 2027.
"The most important thing for us is that every person interested can participate in such training no later than 2026. And that is a difficult task, but I know it is doable," Tusk said ahead of a government sitting.
"In 2027 we will achieve the ability to train 100,000 volunteers per year... Apart from the professional army and beyond the Territorial Defence Force, we must de facto build an army of reservists and our actions will serve this purpose."
The government backed giving military training to all adult males last week as Warsaw prepares for threats from Moscow.
Galvanised by Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine three years ago, Poland now spends a higher proportion of GDP on defence than any other NATO member.
(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Alan CharlishWriting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, editing by Ed Osmond)
