Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced plans to encourage military training for every adult man in Poland in a speech on Friday, with a model outlining how to stand up the expanded military training expected by the end of 2025.

The goal, according to Tusk, is to make sure that every adult male in Poland is trained in the event of war and that Poland has military reserves “adequate to potential threats”. He added that women would also have the option to participate in the training.

Tusk said that “work is on the way” to ensure all Polish men receive military training in a speech on Friday to the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament. He did not provide details of how the training scheme would work, but suggested that it would be voluntary.

E”very healthy man should want to train to be able to defend the homeland if necessary,” Tusk said.

However, Tusk dismissed concerns about a return to compulsory military service. “If I had proposed a return to basic service, I would have said so,” he stated.

Tusk highlighted the growing military imbalance in the region, noting that Ukraine’s army stands at 800,000 troops, while Russia fields 1.3 million soldiers. Given these numbers, he Poland’s need to strengthen its defence, said Tusk.