The government of Donald Tusk had all the tools to ensure that, after 2.5 years in power, the “Eastern Shield” would already be a fully completed project. Meanwhile, it is like the Yeti — everyone talks about it, but no one has seen it. And trusting Germany to engage in something selflessly is like trusting Tusk: it only harms oneself — says Piotr Kaleta, an MP from Law and Justice and a member of the Sejm National Defence Committee, in an interview with Niezalezna.pl.
Since April 2026, soldiers of the Bundeswehr were supposed to assist Poland in securing the border with Belarus and Russia, as reported in early December by the German outlet Bild. The plan involved engineering operations as part of the “Eastern Shield” initiative, including the construction of fortifications along the Polish–Russian border. Several dozen soldiers were expected to take part in the mission. However, April is already drawing to a close, and no Bundeswehr troops have appeared.
As established by Niezalezna.pl journalist Tomasz Grodecki, Berlin is delaying its decision. Despite earlier announcements, it has not sent final confirmation to the Polish authorities.
“We assume that the German side will ultimately confirm the date of the deployment of its forces to Poland. At present, June/July 2026 is the planned timeframe for the relocation of the German unit to Poland,” according to information provided to the portal by the press office of the Polish Ministry of National Defence.
For now — instead of concrete engineering undertakings, which, to put it mildly, should be accelerated under the “Eastern Shield” project — reconnaissance of the potential involvement of the German side in Poland is being conducted. This is expected to be completed in May.
“The Eastern Shield is like the Yeti”
Niezalezna.pl asked Piotr Kaleta for comment on the matter.
“Trusting Germany is like trusting Donald Tusk — it harms oneself. It has long been known that Berlin engages only in projects where it sees its own interest. And the same applies to the potential engineering assistance for Poland, which was supposed to happen but still has not materialized,” he emphasized.
“The leadership of the Ministry of National Defence fails to notice one thing — if we are to rely on support, it should come from those who are already present in our country. I am referring here to U.S. forces, which have vast experience in military engineering. Especially since there is speculation about increasing the U.S. military component in Poland — involving a possible relocation of American forces from Spain and Germany to Poland,” he added.
“For now, the ‘Eastern Shield’ is like the Yeti — everyone talks about it, but no one has seen it. As the previous government, we built the necessary system of barriers and fortifications on the border with Belarus in response to the hybrid war waged against us. We left them the funds, and so far they have only reinforced the existing barriers. Zero initiative of their own,” he continued.
“It is hard to expect that anything will change in this matter anytime soon. This government has no money for security. Moreover, it is unable to implement it effectively. This has introduced significant chaos into our country’s defense policy, including in terms of deterrence and response to sabotage activities. Even though there are currently no attempts to breach Poland’s border from Belarusian territory, support for the Border Guard must continue — especially from the Territorial Defence Forces. The hybrid war has not disappeared,” Kaleta concluded.