Poland Starts Construction of "Eastern Shield" on Borders with Russia and Belarus
On Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the construction of the Eastern Shield fortification system on the borders with Russia and Belarus had begun.
The Polish prime minister announced this on X (Twitter).
Donald Tusk also posted a photo from the construction site showing construction equipment.
‘Construction of the Eastern Shield has begun! First works on the border with Russia,’ the Polish Prime Minister captioned the photo.
The Eastern Shield project was presented in May. In mid-October, the first tests of the Shield's elements took place at the test site in Orzyś (Warmia and Mazury).
Poland plans to strengthen its northern and eastern borders by creating defence lines, surveillance, reconnaissance and drone defence systems, spending about 10 billion zlotys ($2.6 billion) by the end of 2028.
The project involves the construction of various types of fortifications, fortifications and natural barriers on Poland's borders with Russia and Belarus.
It is also planned to build appropriate intelligence and threat detection systems, advanced bases, logistics hubs, warehouses, or deploy anti-drone systems.
The Polish government adopted a government decree on the creation of the National Deterrence and Defence Programme - Eastern Shield, which is scheduled to be implemented in 2024-2028, on 10 June at a retreat in Bialystok.
In October, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk announced that the ministry plans to purchase heavy engineering equipment worth up to PLN 600 million as part of the Eastern Shield programme.
Earlier, it was reported that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will apply to the European Union to finance the construction of a network of bunkers, barriers, distribution lines and military depots along the borders with Russia and Belarus.
Back in January, the three Baltic States announced a plan to create a ‘Baltic Defence Line’.