Poland fortifies Russian border with NATO allies

Poland is fortifying its border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave with help from NATO allies, laying trenches, barbed wire and concrete anti-vehicle barriers as part of its Eastern Shield programme.

Polish and German soldiers worked for five weeks on the frontier, placing long lines of concrete barriers known as “hedgehogs” across muddy farmland near one of Europe's most strategic borders.

Eastern Shield began in 2024 and is intended to secure Poland's and NATO's borders with Russia and Belarus. It includes fortifications, equipment depots, reconnaissance systems and anti-drone installations.

Poland, a NATO and EU member, has made securing its 210-kilometre border with Russia a priority and allocates about five percent of GDP to defence. Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said around 10 billion euros had been allocated to the project.

Junior defence minister Cezary Tomczyk described Eastern Shield as a “multi-layered system” and said Poland was buying several hundred thousand mines to be deployed in the event of a defensive operation. He said Polish forces could mine the country's entire eastern and northern border within 48 hours.

Poland and Germany said in December that German troops would be deployed from mid-2026 until the end of 2027 to support Eastern Shield. Generals said French and Polish soldiers, along with elements of the US Army and British groups, would also take part in border-securing activities from October.