Several dozen German sappers, equipped with specialized engineering equipment, have spent the past month installing concrete anti-tank obstacles, digging anti-tank ditches and building supply depots along sections of the border considered most vulnerable to incursions, Polish and German officials told reporters Thursday during a visit to the border area.
The deployment is part of an "Allied Support for East Shield" program, under which NATO member states rotate troops through Poland to assist in constructing the fortifications, known as East Shield. Gen. Stanisław Czosnek, deputy chief of Poland's General Staff, said the German unit will remain until mid-October, when it will be replaced by French forces.
Col. Marek Pietrzak of the Polish General Staff said the current phase of work is concentrated on sensitive border stretches. "The soldiers from Germany have been with us for a month. There are several dozen of them, equipped with specialized engineering gear", he said.
Gen. Tilo Maedler, chief of staff of the Bundeswehr's Joint Forces Command, framed the work as a deterrent rather than a provocation. "We cannot know what Russia is planning, but the better prepared we are for whatever they are planning, the less likely it is that Russia will actually take military action", he said. "What we are doing is protecting our freedom, our democracy".
Czosnek said Poland is closely monitoring activity on the other side of the border, in both Kaliningrad and Belarus, in coordination with NATO intelligence services. "We have full knowledge, and we are working to build on it", he said.
The East Shield border fortification programme is designed to make it more difficult for a potential aggressor to operate along Poland's eastern border while improving conditions for defending forces.
The programme includes conventional fortifications such as anti-tank barriers, as well as storage sites for materials that can be used to build barriers or block roads.
It also includes surveillance and anti-drone systems, military supply depots and measures to preserve natural obstacles such as wetlands and dense forests.
Among the program's largest components is the SAN anti-drone system, covered by an 18-battery contract signed Jan. 30 worth PLN 15 billion (EUR 3.49 billion). The system will eventually field 52 fire platoons and 18 command platoons across 703 vehicles, combining Norwegian-supplied Bushmaster cannons, Polish-made rapid-fire machine guns, rocket launchers and networked radar and jamming equipment for coordinated counter-drone operations.
The first three fire platoons are due for delivery by the end of 2026, with the full 18-battery order set for completion by the end of January 2028.
(jh)
Source: PAP, Polish Radio