While Lithuania is experiencing a record number of members in its national guard, we still have a long way to go to catch up with Poland: our neighbours are impressively expanding their armed forces

Wednesday, Mar 19, 2025

Delfi

Poland and Lithuania boost military strength; Bulgaria and Austria face recruitment and image challenges.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

The text compares military trends in several European countries. Poland currently has 144,000 professional soldiers and is increasing its forces, with plans to boost volunteer training. Lithuania has seen significant positive trends in its military, with the number of personnel in professional, volunteer, and mandatory service increasing substantially over the last decade, and the number of members in the Lithuanian Rifle Association has more than doubled since 2020. Bulgaria is struggling to fill military positions despite salary increases, citing a shortage of 5,000 soldiers and issues related to Russian disinformation campaigns. Austria is attempting to reform its military image, which has been negatively perceived due to outdated equipment and infrastructure, and plans to increase its size and invest heavily in modernizing its forces by 2032.

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