Poland Reveals Details of ‘Eastern Shield’ Program

Poland’s defense minister has unveiled details of the multi-billion zloty “Eastern Shield” plan that will fortify the country’s borders with Belarus and Russia.

The government will allocate 10 billion zlotys (€2.35 billion) to the 2024-2028 program, which will also receive funding from the EU, as Poland rushes to improve its defenses on its eastern borders owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at the headquarter of the Polish General Staff, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the defensive plan will include “fortifications and various types of barriers, but also state-of-the-art airspace monitoring systems in every parameter, at every altitude.

The airspace technology, named the Barbara reconnaissance system, consists of four aerostats (lighter-than-air vehicles) at a cost of around USD 1 billion (EUR 923 million), and a satellite component, as well as state-of-the-art drone and anti-drone systems.

He also announced further work on an existing barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border, which is “a separate activity from Eastern Shield… [but] complementary.”

Poland has built a fence along its frontier with Belarus designed to stop migrants from getting into the country.

The Eastern Shield, Kosiniak-Kamysz said, will hinder the movement of enemy troops, facilitate the movement of the Polish troops, and protect the population.

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The  activities development of the Eastern Shield will involve the local community and businesses, said the minister, and this will help to offset the economic damage caused to the local population by the loss of cross-border trade.

He said that businesses and residents in the surrounding areas would now make their living “from the security of the border.”

Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk detailed that the project would cover 700 kilometers of the Polish border, including 400 kilometers with Belarus. The Ministry wants the scheme to be implemented immediately and work will start later this year, he said on Monday.

Tomczyk said the investment is to be completed by 2028.

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