BRANIEWO >> Six kilometers from the Russian border in northern Poland, office administrator Agnieszka Jedruszak is digging a trench. Driven by fear of war with Russia, she wants to be able to defend her family, including her 13-year-old son.

Thousands of Poles like Jedruszak are signing up for voluntary military training as Poland’s army seeks to fill its ranks with professional and voluntary personnel amid escalating concerns over Russia’s military aggression.

“I’d do anything to keep my child safe. And I would definitely want to fight to protect him,” said Jedruszak, dressed in military fatigues, her face painted in camouflage colours. For many in Poland – which endured decades of Moscow’s domination under the Soviet Union – the fear of Russian hostility looms large.

Those concerns ha

See Full Page