Poland has begun building a £1.9bn ‘Eastern Shield’ along its borders with Russia and Belarus, in an effort to protect Nato’s eastern flank as tensions rise amid the war in Ukraine.
The 400-mile-long construction will include anti-tank fortifications, bunkers and other obstacles built to physically defend the border and control movement at a time when US support for the defense of Europe is expected to decline when Donald Trump takes office. in January.
Trump, who won the US presidential election last week, has repeatedly said he will “end” the Russian invasion of Ukraine on his first day in office, adding that he also plans to cut aid to kyiv, even though The United States is an important financial and military center. supporter. His team has also reportedly considered the idea of creating an 800-mile buffer zone along the frontline that would be manned by EU and UK troops.
State-of-the-art anti-drone systems and surveillance technologies, powered by artificial intelligence to aid early detection of threats, will also protect Poland from the threats posed by modern warfare revealed by the conflict in the south.
In addition, the “shield” will also include a satellite component to provide “another element of security in space,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in order to prepare the country for “the wars of the future.”
The fortifications are designed to defend against potential threats from the “enemy,” Tusk said earlier this year, and the heavily militarized Russian enclave of Kaliningrad to the north is seen as posing a growing threat to the West.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk shared the image above with the caption: ‘Construction of the Eastern Shield has begun! First works on the border with Russia’
Polish soldiers begin placing a barbed wire barrier along Poland’s border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad in November 2022.
A Polish border guard officer patrols the border between Poland and Belarus, 2022
Tusk speaks during a news conference at the defense program of the “Shield East” military exercise at the ground forces training ground in Orzysz, northern Poland, last month.
According to details provided by the government, the program, perhaps the most significant national security investment in Poland’s post-war history, will employ modern surveillance equipment, including image intelligence (IMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT) and acoustic monitoring to improve the situation. awareness.
The multi-layered defense line is expected to be about 200 meters deep and consist of fences, ditches and minefields.
A high border fence will provide the first barrier to any invaders, followed by barbed wire and anti-tank trenches.
Obstacles such as “dragon teeth”, pointed concrete blocks used to stop the movement of armored vehicles, will also be placed along the way.
Bunkers and underground shelters will also be hidden within the forests to protect those inside the border should defenses fail.
The project was announced in response to Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine and what the Polish government calls “hybrid warfare” tactics by Belarus and Russia.
These include increasing migration pressure on the eastern border, where Warsaw claims Minsk and Moscow may be colluding to funnel asylum seekers westward, putting pressure on Western countries and fueling divisive rhetoric.
‘The border cannot be crossed with impunity… It is Russia and Belarus that are behind this procedure, and the whole world calls it a hybrid war. We will not back down,” Tusk said in July.
“We do this to deter the enemy, so that all those who wish Poland evil, all those who plan an attack, an aggression against our allies or against our country, hear here today, from the Main Market Square of Krakow: stay away from Poland!’ Tusk said at an event marking the launch of the initiative in May.
He added: “Poland is strong, Poland will be safe thanks to its own actions and thanks to its own allies.”
Poland has the highest military spending per GDP of all NATO member countries, according to a recent report by the defense alliance. His ambitious project should be completed in 2028.
The large Minsk landing ship takes part in an amphibious landing exercise conducted by naval infantry units of the Russian Baltic and Northern fleets, off Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea.
The fortifications are designed to defend against potential threats from the “enemy,” Donald Tusk (pictured on the border in 2024) said earlier this year.
Border guards patrol on quad bikes along the border wall on the Polish-Belarusian border near the village of Tolcze in northeastern Poland on June 8, 2022.
Meanwhile, NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which announced a “Baltic Defense Line” in January, are planning another project, starting in 2025.
The countries’ shared concerns about the threat posed by Russia will see it integrated into Poland’s eastern defense efforts.
They are seeking EU funding to build a network of bunkers, barriers, distribution lines and military warehouses along their borders with Russia and Belarus, Estonian officials said in September.
“The need for a (Baltic) defense line arises from the security situation and supports NATO’s new advanced defense concept,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement.
“At the same time, it reinforces the security of the European Union and the military defense of its borders, so we clearly see that the EU could also financially support the project,” he continued.
The defense ministers of the four countries said threats on the Baltic-Polish border are increasing and that increasing fortifications “remains a high priority that contributes to our commitment to defend every inch of (NATO) territory.”
“Russia’s war against Ukraine has shown that creating physical obstacles in open terrain without natural defensive cover is paramount even in a technologically advanced war,” they said in a joint statement.
Polish soldiers operate armored tanks during the defense program of the “Shield East” military exercise at the ground forces training ground in Orzysz, northern Poland, Oct. 14.
A border guard patrols the Polowce-Pieszczatka border crossing in 2024
Lithuania recently blocked and fortified a bridge over the Nieman River linking it to Kaliningrad in Russia, and officials said they planned to fortify and even mine other bridges connecting their country to the enclave.
The small but heavily armed territory lies between the Baltic Sea, Poland and Lithuania, and is home to the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Sea Fleet.
“Kaliningrad is essentially a Russian arms depot, and has a lot of military operational equipment in use, not just in storage,” Elisabeth Braw, a senior member of the Atlantic Council, told the Kyiv Independent earlier this year.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raised fears that the territory’s neighbors could be the first to be attacked in the event of a war between Moscow and NATO.
Poland’s foreign minister claimed in June that Russia could be storing up to 100 nuclear warheads in the territory.
‘If you look at the world from Warsaw, the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad is 200 kilometers to the north, and there are 100 nuclear warheads, and the Russians keep them there. In addition, Belarus is nearby. This means that an attack on the European Union is absolutely likely,” Radoslaw Sikorski warned.
He also noted that Russian missiles aimed at Ukraine have at times violated Polish airspace.
‘Sometimes they accidentally enter our airspace. Even to the western part of Poland, which is 250 km from here. It is very close and the danger is greater than some people believe.
Earlier this year, Western intelligence claimed that a secret electronic weapon used to jam GPS technology on flights and ships is located there.