Conservative media outlet TV Republika reported on Thursday that the Polish Ministry of National Defense (MON) is considering significant cuts to the defense budget. This announcement triggered a wave of criticism from the opposition members of the Law and Justice (PiS). The MON was quick to refute these claims, but lawmakers continue to present new evidence supporting the initial report.
TV Republika revealed a document indicating that the MON plans to reduce defense spending by 25 percent — approximately 57 billion złotys (€13.30 billion) — between 2025 and 2028. This proposal was negatively reviewed by General Wiesław Kukuła, the chief of the general staff.
The Ministry of National Defense strongly denied TV Republika’s claims, stating, “These claims are completely unfounded and mislead the public.”
The ministry quickly issued a statement to clarify, writing: “In fact, next year we plan to increase the military budget by 10 percent, which is part of a long-term national security strategy.”
However, PiS lawmaker Paweł Jabłoński claimed to have confirmation from MON’s director general that the cuts are going through.
“A letter protesting against the cuts of 57 billion zlotys was sent from the general staff — in response to an earlier letter from the Ministry of National Defense announcing such cuts!” wrote Jabłoński while showcasing the document on the social media platform X.
“The general staff has just confirmed at a press conference that such a project, predicting spending cuts, was indeed received from MON. This was also confirmed by the ministry’s director general during a parliamentary inspection,” posted another PiS lawmaker, Radosław Fogiel, on X.
Despite these allegations, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasized that the defense budget for the upcoming year would be historically high, increasing by about 10 percent from 2024’s budget of 169 billion złotys (€39.5 billion).
