It's official: Poland is preparing for war
On Saturday, the Polish Prime Minister confirmed: Poland will build a defensive wall, called the “Eastern Shield”, on the border with Russia and Belarus. The country also plans to strengthen its border security with Ukraine.
The "Eastern Shield" is currently under construction. It will separate Poland from the Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian territory) as well as from Belarus. In addition, it will serve to further secure Poland’s border with Ukraine.
Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, made the project official at a press conference near the Russian border, where a first section of the wall has been erected. Indeed, according to La Dépêche, 3,500 concrete elements have already been installed.
Deterring the aggressor
In an interview with Polish news agency PAP, the Polish leader said that "everything we do here and will do on the border with Belarus and Ukraine is aimed at deterring and discouraging a potential aggressor, so it's really an investment in peace". He continued: "Our activities will also concern securing the border with Ukraine – for other reasons – but we want Poles to feel safer along the entire eastern border."
In a nutshell, the "Eastern Shield" represents 700km of fortifications, equipped with warning and detection systems, sophisticated logistics bases, anti-drone systems and anti-tank ditches. "These aren't skyscrapers, but they're kilometers of installations. Some parts of this project aren't visible to the naked eye," Tusk said. He added that "this is the largest project of this type in the history of Europe after 1945".
The work should be completed in 2028.
(MH with Manon Pierre - Source: La Dépêche - Illustration: Unsplash)