At a news conference on Thursday in the village of Momajny, just a few kilometers from the Russian border, Gen. Stanisław Czosnek, deputy chief of the General Staff of Poland's Armed Forces, said that the military has almost completed securing state-owned land for the project.
He added that no private property had been expropriated.
“No private land has passed into the hands of the State Treasury,” said Czosnek, who told reporters that the army is working with plots already held by the National Center for Agricultural Support, a government agency that oversees state farmland.
Existing lease agreements with farmers have not been terminated, but future contracts will include clauses allowing the military to use the land if needed.
Czosnek added that the army is currently setting up storage areas near the border, from which equipment such as anti-tank "hedgehogs" can be quickly deployed.
Forty-three such sites are already in place, and more are planned. Each county along the border will host one of these local depots, while each province will have a central logistics hub.
The Eastern Shield initiative, announced by the defense ministry in spring 2024, is a large-scale effort to strengthen Poland’s eastern frontier with Russia and Belarus.
The project includes fortifications, storage depots, anti-drone installations and surveillance infrastructure. Defensive features will combine manmade barriers with natural terrain such as lakes, swamps and dense forests.
Military spokesman Col. Marek Pietrzak said the army has purchased land from private farmers in only three cases, all through negotiated agreements.
“We are receiving offers from landowners near the border, but it is the military that selects locations for the project, not landowners,” he told Poland’s PAP news agency.
On Thursday, a public meeting was held in the village of Momajny at the request of local residents who had become alarmed by a visible increase in military activity and rumors of forced land seizures.
“People asked for this meeting because military vehicles started driving around and it raised concern,” said Mayor Marta Kamińska.
For more than two hours, residents questioned army officials not only about potential land use but also about road safety. Villagers complained that large military trucks were damaging narrow local roads and potentially creating dangerous conditions.
The army promised to repair any damaged roads after construction is completed. Fortification works are currently underway near Momajny, which is why traffic through the area has increased, the military said.
After the meeting, Czosnek acknowledged the importance of involving local communities.
“War is too serious a matter to leave entirely in military hands,” he said. “We need cooperation from local residents and authorities. Today’s meeting was a good example of understanding the importance of security in society.”
Also attending was Radosław Król, governor of Poland's northeastern Warmia-Masuria region, who stressed the need for better communication between the military and the public.
“Without accurate information, fake news spreads,” he said, adding that more meetings would be held in other border towns to explain the Eastern Shield project.
Poland’s border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad has become an increasing focus of national defense planning in response to Russia's aggressive policies and the war in Ukraine.
Eastern Shield is intended to boost readiness and deterrence along this sensitive stretch of the European Union and NATO’s eastern flank.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP