WARSAW, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Poland is stepping up security along its eastern border following recent Russian attacks on western Ukraine, some of which occurred just a few kilometers from the Polish border.
"We are strengthening the protection of our border crossings with Ukraine," Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said infrastructure used by Poland's Border Guard was being reinforced, while military engineers were carrying out work to strengthen posts and other facilities near the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Observation and guard posts are being built near the border in Dorohusk, Medyka and Korczowa, said Polish Armed Forces General Command in a separate post on X on Tuesday.
Military engineers are also constructing border fortifications using collapsible wire-mesh containers that can be filled with sand or gravel and used as blast barriers or retaining structures, according to the General Command.
Russian forces continued striking railway infrastructure in western Ukraine and logistics centers storing supplies for the Ukrainian forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
According to Ukrainian media reports, a petrol station in Ukraine's northwestern Volyn region near the Polish border was struck on Sunday. On the same day, a Russian attack struck the locomotive of a passenger train in the Volyn region, about 2 km from the Polish border, Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday Ukrainian forces have struck a naval base in Russia's southern Krasnodar Territory, hitting a terminal used to load oil, military port facilities, and warships carrying Kalibr missiles in the city of Novorossiysk.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland would strengthen coordination among customs officers, police, the Border Guard and the military at border crossings, with the aim of keeping traffic flowing and preventing concentrations of vehicles near the frontier.
Tusk also said he would consult other NATO members on preparations for a potential joint response.
The measures come as Poland continues to strengthen its military capabilities and defenses along NATO's eastern flank.
Airspace security has been tightened. A temporary restricted area over eastern Poland came into effect on Sept. 10, limiting air traffic up to an altitude of approximately 3 km. The restriction will remain in place until Dec. 9.
Poland is also expanding its "East Shield" defense program along its eastern frontier and developing an anti-drone defense system for the area at an estimated cost of around 2 billion euros (2.3 billion U.S. dollars). ■
