Billions for fortification
Poland wants to make its eastern border “impassable for enemies.”
May 18, 2024, 4:42 p.m
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Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland’s already tense relations with Belarus and Russia have worsened. Accordingly, the EU state wants to strengthen its eastern border and is spending a lot of money to do so.
Poland is investing the equivalent of more than 2.3 billion euros in strengthening its border in the east. This is intended to protect his country against growing threats from neighboring Russia and Belarus, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “We are embarking on a major project to build a secure border, which includes a fortification system and landscape and environmental decisions that will make this border impassable for a potential enemy.” Tusk left it open what type of fortifications should be built.
A week ago, the Prime Minister declared that Poland was faced with a growing “hybrid war” caused by illegal immigration from Belarus. The NATO and EU state Poland borders in the east on Belarus, which is an ally of Russia, and on the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
According to the Polish border guard, there are around 300 attempts to illegally cross the border between Poland and Belarus every day. As early as 2021, the then Polish government and the EU accused Belarus of orchestrating an influx of migrants in order to put pressure on the EU because of the sanctions it had imposed on the government in Minsk. Belarus denied the allegations.
The previous government in Warsaw, which was led by the national-conservative PiS, built a 180-kilometer-long and 5.5-meter-high fence on the Polish-Belarusian border to protect against illegal migration. It is supplemented by a system of cameras and sensors that monitor the border.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is also a neighboring country of Poland, began in February 2022, Poland’s already tense relations with Belarus and Russia have worsened. The government in Warsaw has increased defense spending and accused Russia and Belarus of wanting to destabilize Poland.