TEHRAN(Basirat)-The Polish military plans to recruit civilian volunteers to form a National Guard-style paramilitary force aimed at preparing for a "hybrid war" with Russia, the Polish Defense Ministry has announced.
The first batch of volunteers will be recruited in September, German news resource Spiegel Online has
reported.
The state will pay each volunteer 500 zlotys (about €125 a month),
and they will undergo regular weekend training. The volunteers will be
commanded by professional soldiers.
According to Spiegel, a large proportion of the volunteer corps will be
concentrated around Warsaw, and in the east, near Russia; units will
also be located near the German border.
Specifically, each of Poland's 16 voivodeships (regions) will receive
a brigade of new troops, with the eastern voivodeship of Mazowieckie
receiving two brigades.
The decision on the new force's command structure and senior
leadership was made in April, Spiegel noted, citing the Polish Press
Agency.
Today, the German resource noted, Poland has about 12,000
paramilitary troops. Beginning next week and into mid-July, these forces
will be involved in NATO's Anaconda military drills. The large scale
drills will include 31,000 troops, replete with tanks, aircraft,
artillery and missile defense units. Foreign policy analysts have warned that Moscow might view the drills as a prelude to a Western invasion of Russian territory.
Poland, which had earlier pushed for the deployment of permanent US and
NATO bases on its territory, has come to terms with the idea of rotating
NATO battalions being stationed on its territory and in the Baltic
states ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw next month.
Earlier this week, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz suggested
that one rotating battalion of NATO troops deployed on Polish territory
would be sufficient to halt any Russian invasion plans, clarifying that
these troops could hold down the Russians long enough
for reinforcements to arrive if it ever came to war. The minister did
not make clear why Russia would decide to attack Poland, a NATO member,
which would effectively mark the outbreak of World War III.
Commenting on the national guard-like initiative in Spiegel Online's
comments section, German readers had their doubts about its logic. One
reader pointedly asked: "Can someone explain to me how one should
understand the idea that Russia is 'putting pressure' on Poland's
eastern provinces? The article says nothing about this. Perhaps our
colleagues have in mind the small border traffic with [the Russian
exclave of] Kaliningrad, which is very beneficial to the Poles
economically?"
Another reader suggested that "from the military point of view, this
is meaningless. From the political point of view, it's irresponsible."
Another noted that the measure will only serve to fuel a military
buildup: "Later, when the Russians take the necessary countermeasures,
the Poles will be surprised and will again feel threatened."
