Poland’s Donald Tusk wants access to nuclear weapons to deter Putin as he announces plan to give military training to every adult male in his country to build 500,000-strong army

Poland’s Donald Tusk wants access to nuclear weapons as he plans to have every adult male undergo military training to grow a 500,000-strong army in a bid to deter Putin.

The Polish Prime Minister revealed he was having serious discussions with France about falling under the protections of their nuclear umbrella, to his parliament on Friday. 

It comes after French President Emmanuel Macron offered to extend his nation’s nuclear protection to European allies and invited military chiefs to discuss putting boots on the ground in Ukraine. 

During his announcement, Tusk emphasised the Eastern European county could not rely on conventional weaponry alone, noting that Ukraine had surrendered its nuclear ammunition to continue to be attacked by Russia. 

‘We must be aware that Poland must reach for the most modern capabilities also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons … this is a race for security, not for war,’ he said. 

The Polish leader has also set his sights on dramatically growing his army, which currently sits at 200,000 soldiers – the third largest in NATO after the US and Turkey – to a 500,000-strong legion. 

Tusk said the military training would create a reserve force that is ‘adequate to possible threats’, with aims to finalise scheme plans – open to women volunteers – by the end of the year. 

The significant military expansion comes as worries grow across the continent after President Donald Trump shifted the US position from being a defender of Ukraine to withholding military aid and intelligence to signalling a support for Kremlin’s position.

During talks with the Sejm – the lower house of the parliament – Tusk highlighted that the Ukrainian Army was made up of around 800,000 soldiers while its opposition, Russia, had an army of 1.3 million. 

‘We will try to have a model ready by the end of this year so that every adult male in Poland is trained in the event of war so that this reserve is truly … adequate to potential threats,’ Tusk told the chamber Friday.

He added: ‘If Ukraine loses the war or if it accepts the terms of peace, armistice, or capitulation in such a way that weakens its sovereignty and makes it easier for Putin to gain control over Ukraine, then, without a doubt – and we can all agree on that – Poland will find itself in a much more difficult geopolitical situation.’

‘Every healthy man should want to train to be able to defend the homeland in case of need. We will prepare it in such a way that it will not be a burden on people,’ he said, whilst also announcing women would have the option to volunteer. 

Despite this, he also remarked that ‘war is still, to a greater extent, the domain of men’.

‘Poles will not adopt the philosophy that we are completely powerless and helpless, if President Trump has decided to adjust policy,’ Tusk said. 

Jaroslaw Kaczy’nski, the head of Poland´s largest opposition party, the conservative Law and Justice, said a mental shift in society would also be needed in addition to the military training of men.

‘We will have a return to the chivalric ethos and to the fact that men should also be soldiers, that is, be able to expose themselves, even to death,’ Kaczy’nski said.

Talking to reporters later, Tusk cited the Swiss model as an example and added it would not be ‘mandatory, but there would be incentives that make men decide to undergo annual training and it is not just symbolic, not fake.’

Every Swiss man is obliged to serve in the military or an alternative civilian service. Swiss women can serve on a voluntary basis. 

Tusk also said he supported Poland withdrawing from international conventions that ban the use of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions.

The Polish leader was also adamant that the country would not be giving up on NATO, announcing the Eastern European state – who is already NATO’s top spender –  would up its defence budget from 4.7 percent GDP to five percent. 

‘Poland is not changing its opinion on the need, the absolutely fundamental need to maintain the closest possible ties with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This is in general indisputable,’ Tusk said.  

Poland, galvanised by Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine three years ago, is shelling out billions on artillery including Patriot missiles, Abrams tanks, F-35 jet fighters from the US. 

They are also cashing out on more weaponry from South Korea, which includes K2 Black Panther main battle tanks, K9A1 Thunder howitzers, Homar-K rocket systems and jet trainers.

Meanwhile, Trump has suggested that the US might abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries don´t meet defence spending targets.

It comes shortly after dramatic scenes between Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, which saw the US president reverse policy with the Eastern European country and risking a historic rupture with Europe. 

But despite Trump’s previous comments stating that the US would not carry out its NATO obligations if countries within the alliance aren’t spending enough on defence, Tusk is adamant Poland ‘can’t turn [its] back’ on neighbouring Ukraine. 

And as diplomatic uncertainty continues in the West, the Polish leader affirmed his belief that Europe had the economic power to face off with Russia. 

He also added that no Polish military personnel would be deployed into Ukraine to monitor a peace agreement, a move currently being weighed up by NATO allies France and the UK.  

‘Poland’s job is to guard its eastern border, which is also the border of NATO and the European Union,’ he added. 

Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones this week, hobbling the country’s ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defences.

The overnight barrage – which also pounded residences and wounded at least 10 people – came days after the US suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration.

Without US intelligence, Ukraine’s ability to strike inside Russia and defend itself from bombardment is significantly diminished.

Air-defence systems supplied by the West are crucial for Ukraine, but further help is uncertain under Trump, who says he´s determined to end the war.

European Union leaders, mindful they may need to shoulder more of the burden for arming Ukraine and strengthen their own defences, agreed on a plan Thursday to significantly build up their military spending. 

Ukraine is having a tough time on the battlefield. An onslaught by Russia’s bigger army is straining short-handed Ukrainian forces at places along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

Officials from the US and Ukraine will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss ending the war, which began more than three years ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion. On Friday, President Trump said on social media he was ‘strongly considering’ placing additional sanctions on Russia to force it into peace talks with Ukraine. 

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid during the war. The attacks have depleted electricity generation capacity and disrupted critical heating and water supplies. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of ‘weaponizing winter’ in an effort to erode civilian morale.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the energy supply is a legitimate target in the war, because it’s ‘linked with Ukraine´s military industrial complex and weapons production.’ 

Russian air defences downed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Ukraine´s largest private gas producer, DTEK, said that the overnight bombardment in the Odesa region was Russia’s sixth attack in the past two and a half weeks on its facilities. Its plants in two other regions were also struck. 

Russia fired 67 missiles from air, land and sea, and launched 194 strike and decoy drones , Ukraine´s air force said. Their primary target was Ukraine´s natural gas extraction facilities, it said.

Ukrainian defences downed 34 missiles and 100 drones, the air force said, while up to 10 missiles didn’t reach their targets and 86 drones were lost from radars, presumably jammed by electronic warfare. 

Zelensky said Thursday that he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with the country’s crown prince, and that his team would stay on to hold talks with US officials.

He also welcomed a European Union plan to bolster the continent’s defences, and expressed hope that some of the new spending could be used to strengthen Ukraine’s own defence industry.