The Homeland Defence Act ( pl, Ustawa o obronie Ojczyzny), also known as the Act on the Defence of the Fatherland or the Act of March 11, 2022 on the defence of the Fatherland, is a

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intended to strengthen the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, abbreviated ''SZ RP''; popularly called ''Wojsko Polskie'' in Poland, abbreviated ''WP''—roughly, the "Polish Military") are the national armed forces of ...

by increasing the number of active personnel to 300,000, increasing defence spending to 3% of

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

by 2023, modernizing the army and introducing voluntary basic military service. The bill has been signed into law in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

with the leader of Poland's ruling

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński. It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct su ...

party,

Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (; born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician who is currently serving as leader of the Law and Justice party (known by its Polish acronym PiS), which he co-founded in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, ...

, stating that “Poland must have at its disposal the armed forces adequate to the kind of situation we have today – forces that will be able to fend off an attack and will be strong enough to prevent such an attack from happening.” The

defence minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

of Poland

Mariusz Błaszczak Mariusz Błaszczak (born 19 September 1969, in Legionowo) is a Polish politician, historian, and local government representative. Since 9 January 2018, Blaszczak has been the Minister of National Defence of Poland. On 22 June 2022 Presiden ...

further declared that the ultimate aim is to increase the defence spending to 5% of GDP in order for Poland to have "the most powerful land forces in Europe."

References

{{reflist Law of Poland Poland–Russia military relations Military history of Poland March 2022 events in Poland 2022 in Poland