Poland slow to counter 'existential threat' of Russia, says general

AFP and Global Watch | 2026-02-27

Russia poses an "existential threat" to Poland and its military is lagging, the country's armed forces chief warned senior officials on February 25.

Poland, the largest country on NATO's eastern flank and a neighbor to Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, is the Western alliance's largest spender in relative terms.

This year, the country is allocating 4.8% of its GDP to defense, just shy of the alliance's 5% target for 2035.

Amid heightened tensions with Moscow, Poland has vowed to lift its defense spending to this level as part of a swift military buildup to counter rising threats from Russia.

However, that record defense spending was not enough to "make up for nearly three decades of chronic underfunding of the armed forces," Gen. Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the General Staff, argued at the meeting, which included top officers, the defense minister and Poland's president.

Buildup outpaces modernization

The general highlighted a low "pace of technical modernization" compared to increases in the army's size.

Kukula said the Polish army should reach 500,000 soldiers by 2039, compared with around 210,000 at present.

As a result of a lack of updates, some new Polish units "are not achieving combat readiness," due to insufficient equipment, rather than a personnel shortage, the general argued.

Meanwhile, he added, "the Russian Federation remains an existential threat to Poland".

Russia "is constantly reorganizing its forces, drawing on the lessons from its aggression in Ukraine, and building up the capacity for a conventional conflict with NATO countries," he stressed.

NATO leaders have emphasized the need to counter emerging threats from Russia, including hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and sabotage, while advancing defense spending targets that include 3.5% of GDP on capabilities plus 1.5% for resilience and infrastructure.

This aligns with Poland's strategic enhancements, such as hosting over 10,000 US troops and the recent inauguration of the Aegis Ashore missile defense base in Redzikowo, located near the Russian border. Designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, the base represents a key milestone in NATO's ballistic missile defense system.

Polish officials have described this base as historically important for security against air and missile threats observed in conflicts like the one in Ukraine.

Poland is also set to receive €43.7 billion ($51.5 billion) in loans under the European Union's Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme, designed to strengthen Europe's defensive capabilities.

Warsaw plans to use these funds to boost domestic arms production.

The Polish government claims that Poland will be able to access SAFE financing even if President Karol Nawrocki -- backed by Poland's conservative-nationalist opposition -- vetoes a law setting out domestic arrangements for its implementation.

Law and Justice (PiS) -- the main opposition party -- argues that SAFE could become a new tool for Brussels to place undue pressure on Poland due to a planned mechanism for monitoring the funds, which they claim risks undermining Polish sovereignty.