Mariusz Błaszczak made the statement in the southern town of Bieruń on Sunday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The defence minister took part in a ceremony to appoint new soldiers to Poland’s territorial army (WOT).
In his speech, Błaszczak noted that the territorial army now numbered over 37,000 troops and its “mission is to help defend our homeland.”
The defence minister warned: “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has decided to resurrect the Russian empire. The Russian empire has always posed a threat to the freedom of neighbouring nations.”
Błaszczak said: “The best response and the only response to these threats is to strengthen the Polish army.”
He added that the government was increasing the number of soldiers, as well as equipping the Polish army with modern weapons.
Błaszczak stated: “This has been a consistent policy of the Law and Justice (PiS) government and my main mission as Poland’s defence minister.”
Last month, the defence minister reiterated that Poland had ordered 96 Apache attack helicopters and 360 Abrams battle tanks from the United States as part of efforts to deter Russia, amid Moscow's ongoing war against Ukraine.
In April 2022, Poland adopted its flagship homeland defence law, designed to modernise and expand the country's armed forces into one of the strongest in NATO, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Under the law, the Polish army is set to be increased to about 300,000 troops, including 250,000 career soldiers, according to officials.
Monday is day 558 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Dziennik Zachodni