Poland considers reintroducing compulsory military service

Poland is weighing a return to compulsory military service, the country's deputy defence minister said, reopening a debate that has gained urgency amid a wider effort to bolster the armed forces. ([ir-press.com](https://ir-press.com/en/2026/10/14/poland-is-considering-returning-to-compulsory-military-service-initially-through-a-voluntary-transition-period/?utm_source=openai))

Deputy Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka told reporters she personally supports reintroducing mandatory service for both men and women and outlined a possible approach that would begin with an expanded phase of volunteer enrolment before any universal obligation would be implemented. ([ir-press.com](https://ir-press.com/en/2026/10/14/poland-is-considering-returning-to-compulsory-military-service-initially-through-a-voluntary-transition-period/?utm_source=openai))

Political and security backdrop

The discussion follows a broader push by the government to expand voluntary military training programmes after the outbreak of war in neighbouring Ukraine, a shift led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s administration that aims to increase civilian participation in defence preparedness. ([gov.pl](https://www.gov.pl/web/primeminister/more-military-training-less-bureaucracy---poland-ramps-up-national-security?utm_source=openai))

Poland’s armed forces have grown substantially in recent years and now number more than 220,000 personnel, combining professional soldiers with members of the Territorial Defence Forces and other volunteer formations. ([polska-zbrojna.pl](https://polska-zbrojna.pl/home/articleshow/47234?t=NATO-generation&utm_source=openai))

Conscription in Poland was suspended more than a decade ago; the last call-ups ended around 2009, and the country has relied on a professional and volunteer-based model since then. ([orka2.sejm.gov.pl](https://orka2.sejm.gov.pl/IZ6.nsf/main/574A064B?utm_source=openai))

Public opinion appears split. A recent Opinia24 survey shows 48 percent of Poles support restoring compulsory service while 38 percent favour keeping a fully professional army; the poll also finds that more than half of young people oppose reintroducing conscription. ([rmf24.pl](https://www.rmf24.pl/fakty/polska/news-pobor-do-wojska-dzieli-polakow-mlodzi-mowia-stanowcze-nie%2CnIdn%2C1021492?utm_source=openai))

Photo: press material from the event