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Poland has no plans to mine border with Russia — Defense Ministry

Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk added that Warsaw would increase anti-tank mine production at the BELMA plant in Bydgoszcz 25 times

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Poland has no plans to mine the border with Russia; such actions could only be taken only in the event of an imminent threat of an armed conflict, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said on Radio Zet.

"Poland is preparing areas for border mining, but the actual mining could only occur in the event of an immediate threat of war," Tomczyk said, answering the radio host’s question about whether Poland should mine the border with Russia.

The defense official stated that this approach is envisaged by the "Eastern Shield" program for building a line of defensive fortifications on the country’s eastern border. Tomczyk also emphasized that, in his opinion, mining remains "one of the most effective elements of deterrence."

He added that Warsaw would increase anti-tank mine production at the BELMA plant in Bydgoszcz 25 times.

Poland formally withdrew from the Ottawa Treaty (Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention), which bans the production, use, and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines, on February 20. Warsaw plans to resume mine production after this.

The "Eastern Shield" program, announced in May 2024 by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, envisions the creation of a line of defensive fortifications on the borders with Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine by 2028. The program provides for digging trenches, laying minefields, installing antitank hedgehogs, as well as the creation of an active surveillance system.

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