Fearful of Russian aggression, Poles flock to military training

Six kilometres from the Russian border in northern Poland, office administrator Agnieszka Jedruszak is digging a trench. Driven by fear of war with Russia, she wants to be able to defend her family, including her 13-year-old son.

Thousands of Poles like Jedruszak are signing up for voluntary military training as Poland's army seeks to fill its ranks with professional and voluntary personnel amid escalating concerns over Russia's military aggression.

"I'd do anything to keep my child safe. And I would definitely want to fight to protect him," said Jedruszak, dressed in military fatigues, her face painted in camouflage colours.

For many in Poland - which endured decades of Moscow's domination under the Soviet Union - the fear of Russian hostility looms large. Those concerns have only grown this week after Poland downed Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday - the first time a member of the NATO military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin this week accused Western countries of an 'emotional overload' and hostility towards Russia, opens new tab, which it said posed no threat to them. It has declined to comment on the drone incident.

Jedruszak's military instruction took place in Braniewo, at a training ground for South Korean K-2 tanks, after Poland ordered 180 of them in 2022 under a major military cooperation deal. Nestled among forests and sandy terrain, the site echoed with the roar of tank engines and barked orders.

While she tries to stay focused during her everyday life, Jedruszak says she wanted to prepare for "a new reality".

"It's always somewhere in the back of my mind: the thought that something could happen," said the 36-year-old, who spoke to Reuters before this week's drone incursion.

More than 20,000 Poles signed up for voluntary military training in the first seven months of 2025 - in line with record levels last year, according to Colonel Grzegorz Wawrzynkiewicz, the head of Poland's Central Military Recruitment Centre.