The race has just begun and the signals are worrying. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that his country aims to create an army of 500,000 active troops and gain access to a nuclear arsenal.
"We must realize that Poland should aim for the most modern capabilities, also in terms of nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons. This is a race for security, not war," Tusk told the Polish parliament.
According to him, the example of Ukraine, a country that gave up its nuclear arsenal and was then attacked by Russia, illustrates how necessary the measures that need to be taken are. The idea behind this policy is mobilization.
Tusk said Poland currently has 200,000 active troops, making it the third-largest NATO army, after the US and Turkey. Ukraine has 800,000 troops, while Russia has 1.3 million troops.
"Every healthy male should be trained to be able to defend the country if necessary. We will prepare in such a way that it is not a burden on the people," Tusk added.
Tusk said that women can also undergo military training, but "war is still to a greater extent the domain of men."
The prime minister said his government was "carefully considering" France's proposal to include Europe under its nuclear umbrella.
"I would like to know first of all in detail what this means in terms of authority over these weapons," he said.
Tusk noted that Ukraine was invaded after getting rid of its nuclear arsenal, adding that Warsaw would like to get its own nuclear weapons, however remote that possibility may be.
"Today, it is clear that we would be more secure if we had our own nuclear arsenal, that is without a doubt. In any case, the road to this would be very long and there would also have to be a consensus," he said.
Poland is already planning to spend 4.7% of its economic output on defense this year, the highest percentage in the NATO alliance.