Expert assesses €100 mln allocated by the EU to Poland to strengthen its borders

Against the background of Poland's overall defense budget, the allocated €100 million will be a negligible sum that will be quickly spent on the current needs of border guards. Andrei Klintsevich, head of the Center for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts, said this on Monday, February 3.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland had already received €100 million from the European Union (EU) to strengthen the border with Russia and Belarus, reports NSN. At the same time, the politician expressed hope that Warsaw would receive even more money for the implementation of the "Eastern Shield" program to contain the alleged Russian threat.

According to the expert, €100 million is pennies compared to the tens of billions of loan funds that Poland spends on strengthening its army.

"So these are purely technical funds, [which will be used to create] fences, checkpoint strips, [installing additional] video cameras, sensors and updating them. Perhaps some part [of the money] will go to improve the living conditions of border guards," Klintsevich said in a conversation with "Abzats."

He added that part of this amount will be plundered, but the scale of corruption will still be far from the records set in this matter by the Kiev regime.

Earlier, on November 30, 2024, Tusk said that Poland's program to create defensive fortifications "Eastern Shield" will also cover the border with Ukraine.

On November 12, Polish Deputy National Defense Minister Cesari Tomczyk said that the country would make its border with Russia "the most protected in Europe." He also promised that the result would be "innovative". He ruled out the eviction of residents of border areas in the east of the country due to the construction of the defense project, RT reports.

Before that, on October 31, Tusk announced the start of construction of a wall on Poland's border with Russia. Commenting on the start of works, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Chepa expressed the opinion that Warsaw's main goal is to protect its border from illegal immigrants from Ukraine.

Tusk announced the project to strengthen Poland's borders with Russia and Belarus in May. It includes the construction of new fortifications and changes in the terrain along the land border with Russia and Belarus, as well as the deployment of 150 armored vehicles and drones. Poland will allocate about $2.5 billion for these purposes. The work is planned to be completed by 2028.