The 10 billion złoty project (EUR 2.32 billion) will seek to shore up defenses on the borders with Belarus and Russia and will take four years to complete.

On Friday, Cezary Tomczyk, a deputy defense minister, told reporters that tests would begin on elements of the shield over the next three weeks.

“This year, we will start building the first elements... on the northern and eastern borders,” he added.

In all, the project will cover 700 kilometers of the Polish border and will bolster defenses by the Kaliningrad enclave of Russia, as well as the so-called Suwałki Gap lying between Kaliningrad and Belarus.

Aside from ground defenses, the East Shield will also boast state-of-the-art airspace monitoring systems.

The decision to build the East Shield was made following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and in light of increasing hybrid attacks by Belarus. The project will be integrated with the Baltic Defense Line being built by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.