Mariusz Błaszczak made the declaration as he launched a campaign to promote voluntary basic military service, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Meeting the media in the southeastern town of Kraśnik, the defence minister said: “We know what is going on beyond our eastern border - Russia has attacked Ukraine, people are being killed, the Putin regime is committing war crimes.”
‘Polish army will be even bigger, even stronger’
He added: “We won’t allow such scenes to happen on Polish soil - we won’t allow it because our army is and will be even bigger, it is and will be even stronger.”
Błaszczak stated: “The best and most effective response to these threats is to boost the Polish armed forces - that is why we have decided to launch a campaign to promote voluntary basic military service.”
Poland to expand army to 300,000 soldiers
“Our aim is to have a combined force of 300,000, including 250,000 career soldiers and 50,000 territorial army soldiers,” the defence minister told the gathering in Kraśnik.
In March, Poland enacted a new homeland defence law to modernise and expand the country's armed forces into one of the strongest in NATO in response to Russia's war on Ukraine.
Saturday is day 87 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, rmf24.pl
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.