Germany announced that it is sending a group of soldiers to Poland to help strengthen its neighbor's eastern border amid growing concerns about the threat from Russia, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
The main task of the Bundeswehr soldiers in Poland will be "engineering activities", a Defense Ministry spokesman said last night in Berlin. He specified that this could include "the construction of fortifications, digging trenches, laying barbed wire or building anti-tank barriers".
"The support that the German military will provide within the framework of this mission will be limited to these engineering activities", the spokesman insisted, adding that the contingent will number around 50 people.
The mission is planned to begin in the second quarter of the new year and will last until the end of 2027.
The spokesman stressed that the deployment of these soldiers does not require parliamentary approval, "as there is no immediate threat to their life and health related to an armed conflict". Except in certain cases, any deployment of military forces abroad requires the permission of the German parliament.
Poland, a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its fight with Moscow, announced in May its intention to strengthen its borders with Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.