by Olha Hembik | 2026-05-22

Near the village of Asuny in northern Poland, trucks haul building materials down muddy roads while specialized machinery carves four-meter-deep ditches into the earth. Military engineers survey the terrain, marking zones for future minefields. The work is loud, visible and entirely deliberate.

Warsaw is not hiding what it is building. Poland's "Eastern Shield" program, the largest effort to fortify NATO's eastern flank since World War II, spans roughly 700 kilometers (435 miles) of border with Russia and Belarus, and is scheduled for completion in 2028. The price of inaction, Polish officials have concluded, is too high to ignore.

The fortifications already stretch across several dozen kilometers through the provinces of Pomerania, Warmia-Masuria, Lublin, Podlaskie, Podkarpacie and Mazovia. They will ultimately form a continuous barrier running from the Baltic coast to the Ukrainian border.

Deterrence by design

The fortifications are not built to be hidden. Under North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) doctrine AJP-10, which emphasizes deterrence, the Eastern Shield installations are visible in unblurred satellite imagery -- a calculated choice.

"An adversary will think twice before launching an attack from this direction," said Captain Karol Frankowski of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division, who oversees construction along the Kaliningrad border, said on May 2, as quoted by RMF radio.

The defenses are designed to channel and stall any potential offensive, funneling enemy movement into sectors that favor the defenders. That tactical delay is meant to give NATO forces time to mount a counter-response.

Beyond anti-tank ditches, engineers are installing double barriers of three rows of reinforced concrete "hedgehogs" -- blocks weighing about 1,000 kilograms each. Between the barrier lines runs a dedicated mining zone. In the event of an incursion, units can rapidly deploy minefields using "Baobabs," specialized automated equipment. Dense forests, rivers, and marshlands will serve as natural reinforcements.

"This is an element of deterrence, a signal we are sending to potential enemies," Frankowski said. Any adversary must "realize the effort required to overcome this barrier."

A threat on multiple fronts

Retired Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, told Kontur that the threats Poland faces from Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad region span classic military scenarios and hybrid operations alike.

"The Kaliningrad region remains one of Russia's most militarized zones and essentially serves as its military showcase on the Baltic, surrounded by European nations. Russia has always concentrated advanced missile systems, air defense, elite aviation, and naval forces here," he said.

Warsaw has long recognized the danger posed by the Suwalki Gap -- the strategic land corridor between Poland and Lithuania. Since 2022, those concerns have deepened. Russia has stationed forces and nuclear assets in Belarus and used the territory for joint exercises.

"This adds a critical layer of risk to NATO's eastern flank," Romanenko said.

The border also faces a dual challenge: reconnaissance and strike drones, and the "migration pressure" weaponized by Belarus and Russia against Poland and the European Union.

Drones, AI and lessons from Ukraine

The Eastern Shield's technical component centers on building an electronic barrier. Specialized equipment will jam and neutralize hostile drones operating from the Kaliningrad region. A network of dedicated GSM transmitters will keep communications uninterrupted throughout.

Poland's Ministry of National Defense reported on April 22 it is currently testing seven acoustic reconnaissance solutions under the program. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered systems use acoustic detection to identify approaching drones by sound, track their trajectory and classify objects in real-time.

"The drone revolution is unfolding before our eyes, and we cannot ignore the vital lessons learned in Ukraine," said Cezary Tomczyk, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defense, at the Ustka testing range, where trials for eight electronic warfare systems also took place.

Piotr Kaszuwara, a war correspondent and founder of the UA Future Foundation, told Kontur that Ukraine's battlefield experience is shaping Poland's approach directly.

"Ukraine illustrates exactly what the modern battlefield looks like -- how drones operate, how to counter them, and which tactics keep personnel safe," he said.

He pointed to AI integration and closer cooperation between state defense firms and tech startups as essential to the effort.

Retired Polish Army officer Jerzy Mazur, a veteran of peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, told Kontur the modernization effort goes well beyond barriers. Poland is acquiring new tanks and air defense systems, integrating drone technology and hardening against hybrid threats including domestic sabotage and cyberattacks. It already spends more on defense than any other NATO member.

The Eastern Shield, Mazur said, should be understood as a comprehensive deterrence system -- "rather than just a defensive line of 'hedgehogs' and ditches."