Poland Drafts ‘Pre-War’ Readiness Law to Speed Up Allied Troop Deployment

Poland’s Defense Ministry is drafting legislation that would prepare the state for a “pre-war” phase of full defense readiness, allowing troops and institutions to mobilize before martial law is formally declared. This was confirmed by the ministry’s media department to the Polish Rzeczpospolita on Friday, Oct. 2. The draft is currently in internal consultations and, until recently, its working title referred to the state’s defense readiness “for war.”JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The legislation aims “to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Republic of Poland, improve cooperation between the armed forces and the services responsible for internal security, and adapt existing regulations to contemporary threats, in particular hybrid, cyber and disinformation threats,” the ministry told Rzeczpospolita. Line between hybrid and direct attacks increasingly blurs The bill is designed to cover the period between regular peacetime operations and a formal declaration of martial law. A source linked to the presidential office told the newspaper that the decision reflects the “pre-war” period Prime Minister Donald Tusk had previously warned about. Under the draft, Poland would be able to deploy troops, including allied forces, to critical areas earlier than current rules allow. It would also link the country’s Defense Response Plan with NATO’s Response System and set out steps to prepare infrastructure for heightened readiness. Other Topics of Interest Putin’s Pantsir Problem: Why Russia’s Air Defense Is Failing In this episode of Point of Impact, former U.S. Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer breaks down why Putin’s flagship short-range air defense system is fundamentally flawed. According to Rzeczpolita, the law would expand the number of institutions involved in permanent duty arrangements and in the national defense command system. It would also introduce rules for civilian staff working in command posts with limited ability to return home, alongside changes to non-military operational planning, defense training, courses and exercises. The Defense Ministry, led by Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said it was not yet known when the bill would reach the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, citing the complexity of the legislative process. The National Security Bureau (BBN), which advises the president, is also awaiting the draft, according to Rzeczpospolita. Scattered regulations The ministry said current rules on defense preparations are spread across several government ordinances adopted after the parliament passed the Homeland Defense Act in spring 2022. This approach allegedly makes it more difficult to ensure a uniform approach to defense tasks across public institutions. Regulations are also harder to keep consistent. Because some of the provisions directly define the duties and powers of state bodies, the ministry argues they should be set out in law rather than in ordinances. According to Polish media, the current framework dates back to March 18, 2025 when the government replaced a 2004 regulation and reduced the number of defense readiness states from three to two. The state of permanent defense readiness applies in peacetime and covers planning, training, warning systems and preparations against hybrid threats such as cyberattacks and disinformation. The state of full defense readiness can be introduced in response to an external threat or in wartime, enabling mobilization and the full deployment of the country’s defense system. The government must request that change from the president. Earlier law did not account for modern challenges Grzegorz Matyasik, a security expert at the Eastern Flank Institute and former deputy director of Poland’s Government Security Center, told the newspaper that the new initiative shows the 2022 Homeland Defense Act was poorly drafted. According to him, the law had largely copied earlier provisions without accounting for modern challenges, including hybrid threats. Any new regulation should also cover crisis management and the protection of critical infrastructure, he said, adding that this should be closely coordinated with the Government Security Center and the Interior Ministry. The conclusion was that Poland still lacks a dedicated law on state resilience. Michał Dworczyk, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee, said that while he had not yet seen the draft, organizing scattered and often unclear regulations was the right approach, provided the changes were sensible and properly consulted. “We are dealing with an unpredictable adversary, the Russian Federation, which constantly violates international law and agreements,” Dworczyk said, according to Rzeczpolita. He added that Poland should urgently assess whether its crisis management capabilities could cope with further Russian escalation. Tensions continue growing The draft follows months of escalation and repeated warnings from PM Tusk that Russia could extend its war onto NATO territory. In July, he said the upcoming months may prove “critical,” adding that such concerns were particularly palpable in the Baltic states. Mid-September, he repeated his concerns, warning that intelligence indicated Moscow was planning drone and missile strikes on countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland – which it could present as accidental in an effort to weaken NATO’s resolve. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened Lithuania on Sept. 11, saying that the country would disappear from the map of the world should it lift its ban on nuclear weapons. He claimed NATO would not invoke Article 5, as that would mean “a global catastrophe.” Days later, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev threatened to use Russia’s “entire arsenal” against Poland, claiming that “Warsaw will disappear in two or three days,” after Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said NATO could quickly defeat Moscow if attacked. Meanwhile, Moscow has dismissed claims that it is preparing to attack NATO, even as its officials continue to escalate their rhetoric toward the alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin repeated unfounded claims about the mistreatment of Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltic states on Sept. 25, the same pretext the Kremlin used to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Just two days later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that European preparations for a possible war with Russia could prove to be a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” simultaneously dismissing warnings of a Russian attack as “nonsense.” In recent days, tensions between the Kremlin and NATO’s eastern flank have also escalated sharply over Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, which borders Poland and Lithuania. On Monday, Sept. 28, Moscow warned NATO it was ready to use its entire arsenal if the alliance tried to isolate the territory. Putin repeated the threat by raising nuclear weapons again on Thursday, Oct. 1, warning that Russia would respond if attacked and that citizens of the EU should “be fully aware of that.” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart condemned Russia’s nuclear rhetoric and noted that the alliance was exclusively defensive. Moscow’s remarks, however, echo the same rhetoric used in the months before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when the Kremlin repeatedly dismissed Western warnings of an imminent attack as false, while justifying its actions with claims that it needed to protect Russian speakers. Even after five years of war, the Kremlin continues downplaying its aggression as a “special military operation.”