Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the threat of conflict has loomed over the country. There are many people in the country who are volunteering, and they hope to be ready.
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The Poles want to prepare for war. On the shooting range, volunteers of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Polish Army train with war weapons. Aleksandr is 29 years. For four years he has been coming at least one weekend a month to train here. He wants to be ready: “With this type of training I can improve my skills and today I am sure I am ready to shoot weapons.”
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the state has hoped that more and more Poles would sign up. For this, he also increased the salaries of these volunteers. Lieutenant Colonel Grzegorz Podolszański is the deputy commander of the 5th Mazovia Territorial Defense Brigade.
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He seems happy with the changes : “Today, more than 40 000 people are trained in the use of weapons, know how to shoot, provide first aid and behave in various emergency situations.”
“As the Polish state draws conclusions from the conflict in Ukraine, we are investing in equipment, increasing our defense potential and increasing the number of our troops who learn what is necessary in the event of a threat.”
Lieutenant Colonel Grzegorz Podolszańskiat franceinfo
The war in Ukraine is a trigger for these volunteers. In a forest, in the rain and in the cold, Stanislaw, a civilian archaeologist, trains in combat tactics. Today he is learning how to react if one of his comrades is injured by a mine.
A situation he hopes to avoid : “None of us here want something like this to happen, but we are prepared for itexplains Stanislaw. Because unfortunately we border Russia and we risk being next on the list.”
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Krystof, for his part, keeps smiling, and wants to keep in mind the human dimension of these training sessions despite the threat. “I came here, I didn’t know anyonesays Krystof. But I have formed very good relationships, we share a common goal. We all know where we are, why we’re doing it and that’s why we want to be here.” Poland, which fears the Russian threat, hopes to capitalize on this enthusiasm to double its military numbers. And become the largest army in Europe in the years to come.