Poland will take the biggest action near the border with Russia and Belarus, spending more than half a billion dollars to "welcome" long-range weapons from the US

Poland plans to strengthen anti-drone surveillance and ground-based military defenses through a system of fortifications and barriers along some 700 km of its eastern border.

Polish soldiers patrol along the border between Poland and Belarus in Usnarz Gorny, Poland, August 2023. (Source: Reuters)

German newspaper DW reported that on May 27, Polish defense officials presented the above plan. Accordingly, a system called Eastern Shield will be completed by 2028, along the border with Russia and Belarus.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kossiniak-Kamysz said the system aims to protect the country's territory, hinder the movement of enemy troops and help the NATO member country's army move more easily to protect civilians.

He also stressed that this is the largest program to strengthen NATO's eastern flank since 1945 when World War II ended.

According to General Wieslaw Kukula, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, the system will include a network of modern anti-UAV defense and control bunkers, anti-tank obstacles and trenches, bunkers and shelters, as well as space for possible deployment of minefields.

Eastern Shield will monitor airspace at all levels and upgrade existing systems, while being integrated with defense systems across the country.

The funding will be government- funded as Poland already spends more than 4% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, but Warsaw is expected to seek support from the European Union (EU) as the system will also help strengthen the 27-nation bloc's eastern border.

The opposition supports the plan.

The system is part of a regional defense infrastructure being built together with the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which are also on NATO's eastern flank, defense officials said.

Observers say the plan's public announcement two weeks before European Parliament elections, where Poland, a country of about 38 million people, holds 52 seats, could be part of the election campaign of the government that will take power from December 2023 and is led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

On the same day, the Polish Ministry of Defense also said that the country is preparing to buy long-range missiles, with a range of about 1,000km, worth 677 million Euros (about 735 million USD) from the US to strengthen its defense capabilities against potential threats.

The contract, expected to be officially signed on May 28, will be delivered in 2026-2030, as part of the rapid modernization of the national army, which has been accelerated after the Russia-Ukraine conflict (which broke out in February 2022).

Warsaw has increased its defense budget to about 4% of GDP, the highest among NATO countries, and has also made a series of multibillion-dollar military equipment purchases, mainly from the United States and South Korea.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ba-lan-se-co-hanh-dong-lon-nhat-near-bien-gioi-voi-nga-va-belarus-chi-hon-nua-ty-usd-ruoc-vu-khi-tam-xa-cua-my-272877.html