Poland is set to construct an electric border fence with the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad.
Border Guard spokesperson Lieutenant Anna Michalska said the project to build the barrier is due to be submitted for approval.
According to Radio Poland, construction will begin in March and utilize a system of sensors and cameras to monitor the border around the clock, regardless of weather conditions.
She told the station: “Officers [will] have an overview of the border at the headquarters of the Border Guard Branch. Alerts will be sent from detection systems and the algorithms of these alerts will be constructed in such a way that border guards can respond only to real attempts to cross the border by people, not by animals.”
While Poland does not share a border with Russia proper, it does share a 130-mile border with the Kaliningrad region, which is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
Michalska added: “Until now, we have used portable perimetry systems, and [that] has worked perfectly at all sections of the border.
“That is why for many years we have been recommending that such safeguards should be created on those sections of the Polish border that are the external border of the European Union.
“This is a very important element when it comes to securing the state border, but the most important element of the system is a well-trained officer, with experience and knowing his tasks, and performing them well.”
Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine during its war with Moscow.
It has also accused both Russia and its ally Belarus of having used migrants as part of a campaign to destabilize Europe.
Last week, the Border Guard said it had detained people from Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
It added: “It is confirmed once again that the whole procedure of illegal crossing of the Polish-Belarusian border is artificially induced and supervised by Belarusian services and criminal groups cooperating with them. This is an extremely profitable business, a procedure from which both the Belarusian services and its organizers derive profits.
“For example, a person leading foreigners across the Polish-Belarusian border (for the task performed) was to receive $2,500 and was only one of the elements in the organization of illegal crossing of the border of our country, the external border of the European Union.
“The Border Guard effectively deals with this phenomenon. People smuggling people are selected and ‘picked’ from among the revealed groups of migrants. They cannot count on a quick return to Belarus. Some of them are being charged, and all of them are subject to administrative proceedings leading to their return to their countries of origin.”
Newsweek has contacted the Border Guard for comment.
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