If Poland were attacked by a foreign state, how would society react? Many Poles declare they would be ready to volunteer for the army or organizations supporting the military – and in significant numbers.
In the face of a regular war raging just beyond Poland’s border for more than three years, and especially after recent provocative violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones, the question resurfaces of how citizens should act in the event of a potential armed conflict. And… whether there would be anyone left to defend the homeland. A survey conducted by IBRiS for Rzeczpospolita shows that in the event of an attack by a foreign country, more than a quarter – 25.6% of Poles – declare their readiness to voluntarily join the army or organizations supporting the armed forces, including medical services.
Another 20.4% of respondents said they would wait to be drafted. A large part of those surveyed also pointed to actions aimed at protecting their loved ones: 22.3% would move with their family to a safer place within the country, 36.5% would focus on securing their relatives where they currently live, and 37.5% would concentrate on protecting their property.
Fleeing abroad or defending the homeland?
Only 12.7% of those surveyed declared that in the event of danger they would try to flee abroad with their family, while 15.2% admitted they would take no action at all. Another 4.7% were undecided, saying they did not know how they would behave.
For comparison, in a survey conducted in April 2025 by the same research center, 32.6% of Poles declared they would want to flee their place of residence – less than in the autumn of 2023, when 37.4% gave such an answer. It is worth noting that in spring 2025, 18.5% of respondents considered leaving the country, compared to 11.9% two years earlier. This shows that current results regarding emigration in the face of war do not differ significantly from those of previous years. In both the current and past surveys, around 25% of respondents declared readiness to act as volunteers, for instance in hospitals or aid organizations. In spring 2025, 10.7% said they would enlist in the army, while a year and a half earlier this figure was 15.7%.
Who would fight in case of invasion?
The study also reveals that among those willing to volunteer for the army or get involved in aid organizations, the majority are undecided voters (33%) and supporters of opposition parties (29%). They are primarily men around 50 years old – likely many of them former reservists. They often live in smaller towns and have primary or vocational education.
The survey also examined who would most likely declare an intention to leave Poland in the event of an invasion.
According to IBRiS data, this group consists equally of supporters of Donald Tusk’s government and those who did not vote in the elections. Among them, women over 40 prevail – rural residents with higher education. In parliamentary elections, they most often voted for Civic Coalition, while in presidential elections they supported Rafał Trzaskowski.