Poland allocates 5% of GDP for defense spending as Ukraine war resumes
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After a meeting of the EU's defense ministers, Poland has revealed that almost 5% of its GDP will be spent on its defense.
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Poland's Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz arrives to discuss support for Ukraine and European defense in Paris, Wednesday, March 12, 2025 (AP)
Poland has allocated 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for defense spending, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated on Thursday following a meeting for the European Union's defense ministers.
Driven by the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, Poland now allocates a larger share of its GDP to defense than any other NATO member, including the United States. This year, it aims to raise spending to 4.7% of GDP.
Last week, Polish President Andrzej Duda urged the United States to deploy nuclear weapons on Polish soil as a deterrent against Russia—a request likely to be seen as highly provocative by Moscow, the Financial Times reported.
Duda stated that it was “obvious” that President Donald Trump could relocate US nuclear warheads currently stored in Western Europe or the US to Poland. He revealed that he had recently discussed this proposal with Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine.
“The borders of Nato moved east in 1999, so 26 years later, there should also be a shift of the Nato infrastructure east. For me, this is obvious,” Duda told FT.
“I think it’s not only that the time has come, but that it would be safer if those weapons were already here,” he added.
The Polish leader is seeking to revive a nuclear-sharing initiative that he previously proposed to the Biden administration in 2022 without success, the report noted.
Read more: Russia asked US to withdraw NATO from eastern Europe: Financial Times
