MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Poland is preparing for a potential war while hoping that it will never happen, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said in an interview with the Super Express newspaper.

"We are preparing for war, hoping that it will never happen. <...> We are not building an army for press conferences, we are building it on the assumption that it must be ready to conduct national defense operations under extremely unfavorable conditions, and we must have all the necessary tools. Everything we are doing in the areas of energy, infrastructure and, ultimately, the military sphere is aimed at ensuring the country's security in the event of potential armed aggression," he said.

The deputy defense minister also mentioned that Poland is currently working to create a comprehensive SAN drone defense system as part of the Eastern Shield project, which envisages the construction of defensive lines along the borders with Russia and Belarus. According to him, 80% of SAN's capabilities are intended for wartime use.

Polish authorities announced plans to build fortifications along the country's borders with Russia and Belarus in May 2024. The Eastern Shield program is estimated to cost 10 bln zlotys (about $2.5 bln), with work scheduled for completion in 2028. Plans call for digging trenches, laying minefields, installing anti-tank obstacles and creating an active surveillance system along the country's eastern border. The first work began on the border with Russia's Kaliningrad Region in early November 2024. At the end of that month, the Polish government announced the completion of work on the first section, where 3,500 concrete anti-tank obstacles had been installed.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed at a TASS-organized meeting with the heads of the world's leading news agencies that claims that Russia was allegedly preparing to attack Europe were not merely nonsense but a provocation and disinformation intended to deceive their own people.