The Polish government will continue to promote the use of firing ranges and invest in the country’s armament industry to ensure Poles have the means to defend themselves, the country’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Monday.
During a visit to a shooting range, Morawiecki called on Poles to take up arms and learn how to shoot, insisting “a free society must know how to defend itself and have the means to do so.”
The Polish prime minister tweeted a photograph of his target practice alongside the caption: “Well, it seems I would not be a good sniper,” adding the visit had been “an entertaining lesson and experience.”
“I shot original Polish-designed weapons, both the historical and the modern ones,” Morawiecki said, mentioning the Grot carbine which recently entered into service in the Polish Armed Forces and is praised for its reliability by Ukrainians.
“I also shot the historic, legendary Polish Vis pistol, which is still being produced and is used by Polish soldiers,” added Morawiecki.
He said that marksmanship is a beautiful and practical sport with long-standing traditions and that it is currently growing in Poland; he vowed to continue investing in the area to provide Poles with the know-how to defend themselves.
On Jan. 2, Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak approved the procurement of additional Grot carbines for the Armed Forces. He stressed that this would bolster Poland’s defense capabilities.
The carbines have earned the respect of Polish and Ukrainian soldiers, who have tested them in the field.
“This is the most important test, which the Grot carbine has passed. That is why we ordered 70,000 additional Grots,” Błaszczak explained.
