The ongoing war in Ukraine has heightened fears among people in neighboring countries that they too could face a Russian invasion.

In the southeastern French city of Grenoble, a hockey game ended with players lining up with members of the Army, Navy and Air Force as part of a recruitment event.

A woman said she wants to know if she can enlist. A high school student said he is interested in the Air Force. He explained that there is a risk of a new world war, and it is important to have a military.

France's defense ministry says the number of people who applied to join the military last March, following the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rose 40 percent from a year earlier.

The ministry expects the percentage of young people interested in the military to keep growing.

In Poland, high school students have been learning how to use firearms. Poland's government made it mandatory last September for high schools to teach kids aged 14 to 15 how to handle firearms properly.

An expert in Poland says the government's aim is to raise public awareness of the need to prepare for an emergency situation.

Robert Czulda, an assistant Professor of Lodz University, said people who grew up in the country in the 1990s and 2000s were sure that a war in Poland or elsewhere in Europe was not possible, adding "what Russia is doing has changed our mentality."

Russia's invasion is forcing people around Europe to question the sense of security they have had since the Cold War ended.