{"id":206333,"date":"2026-10-06T13:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206333\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T13:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:29:03","slug":"poland-building-up-drone-forces-within-100-km-of-belarus","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206333\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland building up drone forces within 100 km of Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (lepszapolska.pl)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

October 6, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Defense Minister W\u0142adys\u0142aw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters at Lublin Airport on October 5 that a drone unit would be set up in the Lublin province\u2019s \u0141uk\u00f3w, a city about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Belarusian border, in two or three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland is developing its drone forces in the north of the province and aims to form a drone brigade in the future, he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kosiniak\u2011Kamysz added that by late 2026, the ministry would work out an agreement for Lublin Airport, located about 75 kilometers from Belarus, to host a Land Forces helicopter base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New sites in the cities of Poniatowa and Opole Lubelskie are being considered for units of the 18th Mechanized Division, including the would-be 18th Motorized Brigade. The brigade\u2019s motorized battalion and air\u2011defense units will be based in Bi\u0142goraj. Additional funds will be allocated for the area near Kra\u015bnik that hosts Abrams tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister said he would push for next year\u2019s state budget to prioritize military investments in the Lublin and Podkarpackie provinces. He noted that Patriot units had already been deployed in Lublin province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plans announced by Kosiniak-Kamysz are part of Poland\u2019s East Shield program to fortify its eastern border. The General Staff of the Polish Army reported this past January that Warsaw plans to spend nearly $138 million under the program this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, the Council of the European Union approved \u20ac43.7 million for Poland through the EU\u2019s SAFE (Security Action for Europe) instrument, designed to provide financial support to member states to step up defense capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Poland allocated $247 million to cover defense needs, according to the report. This amount does not include EU funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Polish authorities reinforced border crossings and carried out engineering and technical works along a 60-kilometer stretch of the Polish border as part of the East Shield. This year, security measures were expected to be extended to cover more than 200 kilometers of the border with engineering protections designed for almost 260 kilometers of the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Shield, designed to fortify about 700 kilometers of the Polish border, including 400 kilometers of the border with Belarus, before 2028, is the largest program to strengthen Poland\u2019s eastern border since 1945.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU\u2019s effort to secure its western flank met with an angry response from Minsk, which accused the bloc of pursuing \u201can aggressive and overtly militaristic policy,\u201d citing rising military expenditures and attempts to portray Belarus as a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities sided with the Kremlin, allowing Russian troops to attack Ukraine from Belarus on multiple occasions, supplying weapons to Moscow and providing other kinds of assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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