"Over PLN 158 billion (EUR 35 billion) in next year's budget on defence," Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on X
Marcin Bielecki/PAP

Poland plans to spend over PLN 158 billion (EUR 35 billion) on defence in 2024, the defence minister has said.

“Over PLN 158 billion (EUR 35 billion) in next year’s budget on defence,” Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday.

“We will spend these funds to further modernise the Polish armed forces, to increase the number of troops and to build new units,” Blaszczak said.

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, told a press conference on Thursday after the government had approved the 2024 draft budget that ‘widely-perceived security,’ namely the security of Poland’s borders, security achieved thanks to the financing of the Polish army, was one of the main pillars in the budget.

Poland has been recently strengthening its armed forces by means of purchasing modern weapons in reaction to increased threats from Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the biggest military conflict in Europe since World War Two.