"We are ready to increase the military presence on the Polish-Belarusian border. We will protect the Polish border. The police and the border guard service will be supported and provided with even better equipment," Kosiniak-Kamysz told the lower house of the Polish parliament.
Moreover, various types of fortification and other equipment would be deployed on the border as part of preparations for the Shield-East plan announced last week by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the defense chief said.
"It will not only be reinforced concrete hedgehogs or picket fences, it will not only be a set of equipment used at the right time and in the right place. Everything is aimed at surveillance, full-fledged monitoring, reconnaissance, and anti-drone systems. All these modern systems will be located on 400 kilometers (248 miles) of our border, especially with Belarus and Russia," Kosiniak-Kamysz explained.
In addition, Poland is "building drone forces," which are also the key part of the Shield-East national defense and deterrence plan, Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding that the events in Ukraine had proven that component was of great importance.
"There will be tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of drones, unmanned, air, ground, surface and underwater vehicles in the Polish army, in all areas, in every division, in all parts and in all types of forces," the defense minister said.
During his speech in the parliament, Kosiniak-Kamysz also recalled that Poland had taken part in the training of almost a third of the Ukrainian soldiers within the European program, that is, 16,000 troops.
"Together with bilateral activities, this is 22,000 soldiers trained by the Polish army," the Polish defense minister added.
The Shield-East national defense and deterrence plan entails an investment of over 2 billion euros ($2.17 billion) in reinforcing Poland's eastern border with Russia and Belarus. Poland, along with other NATO countries, increased military training of its troops after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The alliance started reinforcing its eastern flank by sending additional ships, planes, helicopters and ground troops to the region and putting them on high alert.
Moreover, Poland has been continuously taking measures to reinforce its eastern border following the migrant crisis that unfolded in 2021. Tens of thousands of irregular migrants from the Middle East and Africa crowded on Belarus' side of the border, aiming to cross into the European Union via Poland, as well as neighboring Latvia and Lithuania. Polish authorities tightened border controls, deployed troops, and accused Belarus of orchestrating the migrant crisis. Minsk rejected the accusation, saying Warsaw was abusing the migrant crisis narrative to aggressively push migrants into Belarusian territory.