NATO allies to join Poland’s border fortification effort

Poland is drawing more NATO allies into its efforts to fortify the alliance’s eastern flank, with US, British and French troops set to help build defensive infrastructure along the country’s borders with Russia and Moscow’s ally Belarus.

American and British troops are expected to arrive in Poland soon, with military engineering teams set to work on fortifications along the country’s borders with Russia and Belarus, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on August 21 as Polish TVP World reports.

According to him, another 80 French military engineers will join Polish forces working on East Shield, a major defence programme aimed at strengthening Poland’s eastern frontier.

Launched in 2024, East Shield is designed to fortify around 800 kilometres of Poland’s northern and eastern borders, including its frontiers with Belarus and Russia’s heavily militarised Kaliningrad exclave.

The programme was developed as Poland strengthened its defences following the outbreak of military hostilities and Russian attacks on Ukraine, which further compounded already existing security concerns along NATO’s eastern flank.

The project includes bunkers, anti-tank obstacles, minefields, drone and counter-drone systems, as well as infrastructure improvements designed to allow Polish and allied forces to move rapidly along the eastern frontier.

Speaking at a press conference marking two years of the programme, Kosiniak-Kamysz said East Shield was already achieving initial operational readiness "in many places".

The defence minister said the programme was "no longer a national project" but had become an "allied project", with troops from several NATO countries now contributing to the effort. He described the "great mission" of East Shield as building "deterrence potential".

German military engineers are already involved in the programme, while the arrival of US, British and French personnel will significantly broaden allied participation.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said further partner countries would be announced soon.

Investments flow into border defences

The defence minister also said nearly 30 additional projects had been incorporated into East Shield with support from the European Union’s SAFE defence financing mechanism.

More than 870 million złoty (approx. €207 million) was spent on the programme last year, while the overall project is expected to cost around 10 billion złoty (approx. €2.3 billion) and run through 2028.

By Nazrin Sadigova