Poland prepares hundreds of thousands of reservists

Poland’s Minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, has announced the launch of a large-scale program to prepare a high-readiness reserve.

“A so-called high-readiness reserve will be created, which together with the professional army and the Territorial Defense Forces will make up 500,000 service members,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, according to the ministry’s press service, News.Az reports.

The minister noted that the number of reservists themselves will total 300,000 people. He said the reserve training program will start in March this year. Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that the need to form such a reserve is “linked, among other things, to inevitable demographic changes that will mean the army can count on fewer and fewer new recruits each year.”

Reservists will be recruited voluntarily from among civilians assigned to specific military units. They will regularly take part in training exercises and maintain readiness for rapid mobilization. As the minister emphasized, participation in the reserve will be open “to both men and women on equal terms.”

As of January 2026, the Polish Armed Forces numbered more than 216,500 personnel, including 162,000 professional soldiers.

News.Az 

By Faig Mahmudov