Poland starts construction of ‘East Shield’ on border with Russia

Poland has started the construction of fortification structures on its border with Russia and Belarus as part of the large-scale project East Shield.

This was announced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the social media platform X, as reported by Ukrinform.

"Construction of East Shield has begun! The first works are being carried out near the border with Russia," Tusk wrote and shared a photo showing excavators digging trenches.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Warsaw plans to build 700 kilometers of fortifications, detection and warning systems, forward bases, logistics hubs, and counter-drone systems on the borders with Russia and Belarus by 2028 as part of the East Shield project. The cost of implementing this project is estimated at 10 billion zlotys (over 2.5 billion USD).

In an interview with Ukrinform, the temporary chargé d'affaires of Poland in Ukraine, Piotr Lukasiewicz, recently noted that the East Shield project is intended to protect against invasions from Russia and Belarus and is based on Ukrainian experience.

In 2022, Poland built a 5.5-meter high and 186-kilometer long barrier along its border with Belarus and installed a modern electronic monitoring system.

This was a response to the artificial migration pressure created by Belarus and Russia at the border with Poland and the Baltic States since the summer of 2021.