By Robert Czulda
In Polish public debate, a range of controversial topics continuously divides society. Yet one issue stands out as not only contentious but profoundly unpopular: the return of compulsory military service, colloquially known as “zetka” (zasadniczna służba wojskowa).
Driven by the precarious security situation along Poland’s eastern border, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and Russia’s persistently aggressive posture, the topic regularly resurfaces. However, few mainstream Polish politicians have shown the political courage to openly endorse bringing back conscription.
Officially, compulsory military service was never abolished in Poland; it was merely suspended in February 2009, with the legal framework remaining in place to allow reactivation during an emergency. The decision to suspend it enjoyed broad public support at the time, as mandatory service in the 1990s had been a traumatic experience for many young Poles. The military was chronically underfunded, demoralized, and plagued by institutional decay.
Yet even then, experts pointed out that just two years prior, at the 2007 Munich Security Conference, Vladimir Putin formally discarded cooperation with the West in maintaining European security, while in 2008 he invaded Georgia.
Today, Poland’s neighbors, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, and Ukraine, along with Russia, all maintain mandatory military service. Similar discussions on reinstating conscription are unfolding in Germany, where implementation remains legally complex due to constitutional guarantees protecting citizens from forced armed service.
The debate in Poland was reignited by Sławomir Mentzen, a leader of the right-wing opposition party Konfederacja, a political camp where figures like Grzegorz Braun regularly promote anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian narratives. Mentzen’s remarks caught many by surprise when he wrote: “Anyone who claims we should rely solely on a professional army is effectively demanding that Poland have no chance of defending itself against Russia.”
Mentzen added: “In the 18th century, Poles did not want to fight in a Polish army, so they lost their state, and in the 19th century, they were forced to fight in the armies of the partitioning powers. If we are unwilling to defend Poland in a Polish army, our children and grandchildren will one day be forced to join the Russian army.” He argued that universal training for 19-year-olds must be reintroduced “right now.”
His stance was supported by Sławomir Dębski, a visiting professor of strategy and international relations at the College of Europe in Natolin and former director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). Dębski rightly observed that defeating Russia exclusively with a professional military is impossible. He also pointed out a hybrid warfare tactic: “In the ongoing debate about reinstating mandatory military service in Poland, it is striking that most accounts fueling emotions and conflicts are anonymous.” According to Dębski, stoking divisions and alienating citizens from their state directly serves Russian interests, noting that the Kremlin is waging a psychological operation against Poland.
Public opinion remains deeply divided, yet in a democracy, public consent dictates political will. A September 2025 survey by United Surveys for “Wirtualna Polska” indicated that half of respondents supported returning to conscription, though a subsequent poll in March 2026 showed support dropping to 41 percent.
Meanwhile, a poll conducted in late September 2026 by SW Research for the conservative think-tank Jagiellonian Club asked whether Poland should introduce several months of basic training and universal military service for all healthy young adults, regardless of gender.
The results showed that 30.2% of men were “definitely” in favor and 28.8% “rather” in favor, totaling 59%. Among women, the figures stood at 18.2% (“definitely”) and 30.9% (“rather”), totaling 49%.
The government currently has no active plans to restore mandatory service, as doing so remains politically explosive. At the same time, Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Zalewski conceded that the government will eventually need to “prepare a very sensible, rational draft program.”
Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz acknowledged that many high-ranking military commanders favor lifting the suspension of the draft, albeit potentially in a restructured format.
The growing aversion to universal military service stems from multiple factors. Some point to the war in Ukraine, which has left thousands of young men dead, wounded, or permanently disabled. Others, raised amid consumerism and hyper-individualism, feel detached from the concepts of community and a homeland worth defending. Critics frequently argue that in a country where young people face severe hurdles to purchasing housing or starting families, the state is simply not worth such a sacrifice, compounded by a general distrust of political elites.
Fairness is another core debate. Alternative proposals, such as short-term mandatory training courses exclusively for men, have sparked heated discussions. In an era increasingly defined by gender equality and social equity, policy proposals targeting men alone face notable resistance. Many men argue that modern women, the majority of whom do not yet have families or children, should not enjoy protected, normal lives while their male peers are sent into the trenches.
The current government is acutely aware that openly backing conscription would trigger massive backlash, further compounding its political vulnerabilities ahead of the October 2027 parliamentary elections. The opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party favors a shortened, 16-day training period. Ultimately, however, the government holds executive power and remains a hostage to current polling and short-term political survival.
“Donald Tusk’s government is resorting to populism,” Dębski argues. “It warns against Russian aggression while simultaneously trying to convince Poles that the country can be prepared for war without restoring the draft.”
On the other hand, the strategic landscape is growing increasingly grim, compounded by a severe demographic crisis. First, Poland faces a record-low total fertility rate of 1.07, far below the 2.1 replacement rate needed for demographic survival.
As one of the world’s fastest-depopulating nations, the pool of potential recruits is shrinking rapidly. This problem is intensified by relatively high rates of medical disqualifications among youth and a rising proportion of births belonging to non-nationals, predominantly Ukrainians.
Second, military experts recognize that professional armed forces alone are inadequate for a prolonged war of attrition of the kind Russia is waging. The Polish Armed Forces currently stand at approximately 220,000 active personnel, including 156,000 professional soldiers and roughly 40,000 members of the Territorial Defence Forces (WOT).
In short, while a professional army initiates a conflict, sustaining long-term defense requires a deep reserve pool, especially since modern conflicts can grind on for years, as vividly demonstrated by Ukraine’s mounting manpower shortages.
Yet, paradoxically, the Polish public appears largely unconcerned about the immediate prospect of war breaking out. A poll conducted by IBRiS for “Rzeczpospolita” revealed that 77.1 percent of respondents do not fear the war in Ukraine spilling over into Poland, with only 15.6 percent expressing concern. The highest anxiety was recorded among those aged 50-59, where 32 percent answered in the affirmative.
As Sławomir Dębski warns, regardless of public resistance and political controversy, the return of conscription is ultimately unavoidable:
“We have three choices. Either we reinstate the draft ourselves, on our own terms, while we still have time to design it properly and communicate it to the public; or the Russians will force it upon us, knocking on Poland’s doors with rifle butts; or the Americans will do it, asking why their soldiers should bleed for a country whose leaders warn of the Russian threat yet hesitate to introduce mandatory military training for their own citizens.”