Poland to recruit 35,000 strong paramilitary force to combat threat from Russia
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/03/poland-to-recruit-35000-strong-paramilitary-force-to-combat-thre/3 June 2016 • 3:43pm
Poland will shortly start enrolling the first volunteers in a 35,000-member paramilitary force aimed at parrying a perceived threat from Russia, Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz said.
"Enrolment of the first members of the territorial defence force will start in September," Mr Macierewicz said at a conference of paramilitary organisations in the northern town of Ostroda.
The force's command structure and senior appointments were decided in April, the minister said, according to a report by PAP news agency.
Russia displays military might with Victory Day parade on Red Square Play! 01:31
Comprising civilians who have had military training, the force is intended to deter Russia from seizing Polish territory by infiltration, as it is perceived to have done in eastern Ukraine.
"The territorial defence force is our response to the threat associated with hybrid warfare," said Grzegorz Kwasniak, in charge with setting up the force, referring to the stealth tactic.
Each of Poland's 16 provinces are expected to have a brigade-level force, and Mazovia - the biggest and most populous region in the centre of the country - will have two.
Priority in deployment will be given to eastern provinces - Podlachia, Lublin and Podkarpachie - deemed to be the most exposed to Russian pressure.
The Polish army on display during the military parade during the Armed Forces Day
The Polish move has been mirrored in the ex-Soviet Baltic states, which have a long history of tension with Moscow. Paramilitary groups from these countries also attended the conference in Ostroda.
Poland already has a paramilitary group, a "riflemen's association" called the Strzelec, set up in the early 20th century by the architect of Polish independence, Jozef Pilsudski.
It has around 12,000 volunteers, many of them youngsters, who get training in military skills.
Strzelec units are to take part for the first time in a major military exercise, Anakonda, gathering Poland and several Nato allies, Strzelec commander Marcin Waszczuk told AFP. The exercise is due to take place in Poland from June 7 to 17.
