Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, more citizens of various European countries are now training with firearms … and, in some notable cases, they are doing so with the encouragement of their respective governments.
Poland is leading the way in this endeavor. The Polish government recently launched the “Education for Safety” program, “set to be implemented across 18,000 schools, [which] will train Polish teens aged 14 to 16 in firearms handling, tactical rescue, survival skills, and cybersecurity,” reported the Latin Times. “While some adults view the initiative with concern, many students and parents support the program, considering it a necessary measure given current geopolitical uncertainties,” says the article.
Meanwhile, Finnish shooting ranges are more popular than ever. An AP story titled “As Russian Threats Loom, Finnish People are Learning to Shoot Back,” noted that the Vantaa Reservist Association, which operates a shooting range in Kerava, north of Helsinki, has seen its membership more than double since the Russian incursion, with over 2,100 members today.
The Finnish government plans to open an additional 300 new shooting ranges, up from the 670 currently operating in the country. “Authorities are encouraging citizens to take up interest in national defense in the country with a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia,” said IceNews. Other media report that Finnish firearm license applications have dramatically increased.
Finland’s National Defense Training Association, the nation’s private military reservists’ association, hosted 120,000 training days in 2024, more than double the number it did three years ago. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the group has increased by over two-thirds with 50,000-plus members.
Hunters in Latvia and that nation’s Ministry of Defense have taken this issue a large step further. An agreement signed by the Latvian Hunters’ Union and the Ministry of Defense five years ago lets hunters train on military bases. Recently, hunters spent a weekend training with a national guard unit at a military base near the town of Ādaži, practicing long-range shooting and various shooting drills.
“This is all in close touch with the overarching defense of the country,” said Major Uldis Dadžāns, Commander of the 19th Battle Security Battalion of the 1st Riga Brigade. “And who knows better than Latvian hunters, first of all, the terrain, forests, fields, how to shoot accurately, how to move quietly? And of course we have our tasks earmarked for hunters in case of crisis.”
Meanwhile, a recent media report finds Latvian citizens have been actively buying firearms, with the total number of civilian-owed firearms on the increase.
Times may indeed change, but history shows us that the need for people to be ready and capable to defend themselves is a constant. Something our Founding Fathers understood all too well when they crafted the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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