Poland strengthens border with Ukraine; Russian and Chinese bombers conduct joint patrols

Poland's prime minister has indicated that the country's border with Ukraine will be reinforced as part of a major project to strengthen its borders with Russia and Belarus. Meanwhile, Russian and Chinese bombers have carried out joint patrols.

Fortifications on the Polish border are part of the Eastern Shield project. (Source: AP)

Poland's prime minister on November 30 called the country's $2.5 billion project to strengthen its eastern border the largest of its kind in Europe since 1945.

During a visit to see the progress of the project, called East Shield, Mr. Donald Tusk said there were "kilometres" of "impressive" installations, invisible to the naked eye.

Eastern Shield is a government-led defense initiative to fortify 500 miles of the border primarily with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

It is also the easternmost external border area of ​​both the European Union and NATO.

It remains the largest project of its kind in post-1945 European history. “The Eastern Shield will be an unprecedented project. We also do these things on the borders with Belarus and Ukraine,” the Polish prime minister said, adding: “The effort we are making is to deter and discourage potential attackers. This is truly an investment in peace .”

He did not elaborate on plans to strengthen the border with close ally Ukraine.

The Eastern Shield will eventually be expanded to protect the smaller Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, he said.

The planned fortifications include terrain obstacles, military infrastructure, surveillance and threat detection systems, forward bases, logistics centres, warehouses and anti-drone systems, state news agency PAP reported.

Tusk’s visit to the region comes a month before Poland takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union, where it is expected to prioritize European defense amid concerns about US President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to European security.

On the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian and Chinese strategic bombers carried out a joint patrol.

Russian Tu-95MS and Chinese H-6K bombers flew over the Sea of ​​Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean, escorted by fighter jets.

Russian planes take off and land at an airport in China.

The Russian Defense Ministry asserted that the flights did not violate the airspace of any country and were not aimed at any specific country.

Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the naval exercises between Russia and China were an effort to counterbalance US military and political power.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ba-lan-cung-co-bien-gioi-voi-ukraine-may-bay-nem-bom-nga-va-trung-quoc-tien-hanh-tuan-tra-chung-295717.html