Poland sharply increases the military budget and is waiting for a Russian attack

The Polish authorities have begun to prepare for a possible attack by Russia in the next three to ten years, and during this time they are going to arm their army as much as possible, said the deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Defense, Marcin Ocepa.

“It all depends on how the war in Ukraine ends, but we believe that this is how long it will take Russia to restore its military potential,” he said.

According to him, the Polish government sees serious risks of starting a war with the Russian Federation in the future. Against this background, it was earlier decided to include record defense spending in the draft state budget for 2023 – they will amount to almost 100 billion zlotys (21 billion dollars), which is twice as much as in 2022. Ochepa pointed out that the purposes for which these funds will be spent will depend on “geopolitical reality.”

Previously Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that from the defense budget next year 30-40 billion zlotys (from 6.4 to 8.51 billion dollars) will go to the purchase of weapons abroad.

In early August, Polish President Andrzej Duda opined that Russia would pose a threat to all of Europe if Ukraine lost the war. He stressed that Poland and the Baltic states would be the first to be hit.

Against the background of similar fears, the Latvian authorities were going to return the military conscription 15 years after its abolition. Women can also enter the service. Prior to this, the country turned to NATO and asked to send five thousand soldiers to protect it from the Russian Federation. Lithuania, Estonia and Poland made a similar call in May. Then each state requested 20,000 soldiers for itself.