War's Impact: This Country to Sell Hundreds of Tonnes of Gold to Buy Weapons

Poland shocks the world with a plan to sell its gold reserves. The move is unusual given that, in the last two years, Poland has been accumulating gold reserves. Data from the World Gold Council (WGC) shows the Polish central bank has been the biggest gold buyer among the world’s central banks over the past two years. They have also been a major pillar of the gold price rally during that period. Now, as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on its eastern border enters its fourth year and the NATO alliance is in a state of uncertainty, the Eastern European country is considering a step never before contemplated: selling its gold reserves. The sale would fund a substantial expansion of the defence budget. Moreover, geopolitical tensions have continued to rise with the outbreak of war in Iran on Saturday, 28 February 2026. The Governor of the Polish central bank, Adam Glapinski, proposed raising up to US$13 billion or around Rp 219.7 trillion (US$1=Rp 16,900) from the sale of the country’s gold reserves to finance a plan to double the defence budget. The move forms part of a plan supported by the president. Glapinski outlined the plan at a meeting with President Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday (4/6/2026). The president said he wanted to seek funding alternatives to the EU programme opposed by the United States. Nawrocki and several of his government officials expressed concerns about an EU loan programme worth US$174 billion for weapons purchases, which is considered expensive and could damage relations with Washington. According to the source, Glapinski told Nawrocki that the National Bank of Poland could profit by selling part of the around 550 tonnes of gold reserves it owns, which could be repurchased later. In addition, around US$3.25 billion could be obtained from other revenue sources through the central bank, so total additional defence funding for this year could reach US$16 billion. In the long term, the total value of the plan could reach about US$50 billion, roughly equivalent to the SAFE loan proposed by Europe to be allocated to Warsaw, according to the Polish president. The source also told Bloomberg that another option is to amend the law so that the central bank can revalue the gold reserves to crystallise gains from price increases, while also drafting a law requiring the funds to be allocated to defence spending. Glapinski has confirmed that he is working on a plan based on gold reserves but has not disclosed further details. The sale of gold reserves would be a major shift in the country’s policy. In recent years the Polish central bank has actually been the world’s largest official gold buyer, adding more than 100 tonnes to its reserves in 2024 and 2025. Last September, Glapinski stated that the central bank planned to increase gold holdings to 30% of total reserve assets to strengthen the country’s financial security.