Poland to double soldiers on border with Belarus

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Polish army in training. Picture by Ministry of Defence
Polish army in training. Picture by Ministry of Defence

Deputy Minister Cezary Tomczyk said that Operation Safe Podlasie will start in early August. As part of this endeavor, the number of troops will be increased from 6 to 17 thousand, of which nine will be ready to mobilize in 48 hours. He added that talks were underway with the Baltic states and the European Investment Bank regarding the financing of the East Shield.

On July 10, 2024, a press conference on the East Shield was held. It was attended by Cezary Tomczyk and Paweł Bejda, Deputy Ministers of National Defence and general Wiesław Kukuła, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army.

„The East Shield project is becoming a de facto European project,” Minister Tomczyk said as quoted by TVN24.

He said that Poland wanted this to happen due to financing as well as the conviction that it will not be left alone and its eastern border is also an EU and NATO frontier. According to Cezary Tomczyk, both the EU and the Alliance see Poland this way.

The Deputy Minister said that Poland was in talks with the Baltic states and the European Investment Bank on financing part of the East Shield. The project is to be combined with the planned fortifications of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Cezary Tomczyk also announced the launch of Operation Safe Podlasie, which is scheduled to begin on August 1. It consists in supporting the border guard at the border with Belarus to a greater extent with a military component. Thanks to this, the ability to counter unexpected situations and protect and support forces assigned to the construction of the future East Shield infrastructure will increase. He noted that so far two operations Gryf and Rengaw have been carried out, one of them managed by the operational commander, and the other by the general. Safe Podlasie aims to unify the command process.

As part of the operation, the number of soldiers involved will be increased to 17 thousand. Six thousand are currently serving at the border, two more will join them. Nine thousand will be kept in reserve, ready to reach the border within 48 hours along with military equipment.

As part of the East Shield project Poland is to build fortifications on the border with Belarus and Kalliningrad. Their aim is to increase Poland’s deterrence and defence capabilities. The investment is to include both fortifications and obstacles such as anti-tank ditches and reinforced concrete hedgehogs, as well as modern detection measures like the Echo system.

TVN24 / Marcin Karwowski