Poland fortifies eastern border – bunkers and fences against migration pressure and Russian aggression

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently announced stepped-up measures to enhance security on Poland's eastern border. In response to escalating tensions with Belarus and Russian aggression in Ukraine, a modern fortification facility is to be constructed along the entire border. Tusk emphasized this necessity in his address to security forces in Karakule, since Poland's eastern border also represents a critical external boundary of the EU. This fortification is part of a European security strategy, and thus Tusk called for investment from the entire community of nations. Last summer, Poland had already constructed a state-of-the-art barrier along the 418-kilometer border with Belarus, including a 5.5-meter-tall fence and a sophisticated surveillance system. Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz recently announced that the infrastructure is to be reinforced with the construction of bunkers and trenches along the borders with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Poland sees itself as an important military supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and is in a strained relationship with the Belarusian regime under Alexander Lukashenko. The latter is accused by the EU and Poland of deliberately directing migrants from crisis regions to the EU border since 2021, to exert political pressure. In light of recent incidents, including the flight of a Polish judge with access to secret documents to Belarus and the reception of a deserter Russian soldier who attempted to blend in with migrants at the Polish-Belarusian border, Poland's enhanced security measures underscore the volatile situation on the EU's eastern flank.