At a press conference near Nomiki in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, Minister Mariusz Kamiński stressed that the aggressive actions of Belarus and the Russian Federation necessitated erecting a physical and electronic barrier.

Today we are opening the first section of the barrier. the electronic and engineering dam are critical instruments for effectively countering illegal migration motivated by political considerations and aimed at destabilising the region's situation

the Minister said.

The Head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration noted that the construction of a barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border significantly decreased the number of reported events related to migration pressure.

The Minister also announced that works related to installing and calibrating perimeter devices to observe the slightest movements near the state border with Belarus had been completed on the first section of the barrier. He also recalled the dramatic developments, which were part of the hybrid war last year.

A year ago, dramatic events occurred on the same border section with Belarus. Thousands of illegal migrants, unusual aggression, stone throwing, and injured Border Guard and Police officers. We would have liked to avoid such scenes orchestrated by the Belarusian regime. It was a preparatory action for the war in Ukraine. A destabilising activity in this part of Europe

 the Minister of the Interior and Administration said.

The Head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration said that the engineering and electronic barrier completed on this section fully secures the sensitive part of the Polish border and, at the same time, the external border of the European Union. Motion sensors, daytime, infrared and thermal imaging cameras are the tools with which, among others, the dam has been equipped. Road infrastructure has also been built along the border so that the Border Guard can intervene quickly and efficiently in undesirable incidents. 

The Border Guard has acquired an extremely modern, professional tool for supervising the Polish-Belarusian border. We are commissioning the first section today. Other parts will be handed over in the coming weeks. I think that by the end of the year, we should have the whole electronic barrier in place

 stressed Minister Mariusz Kamiński. 

Securing the border with the Russian Federation

At the briefing, the Minister of the Interior and Administration reported on progress in constructing a barrier on the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast. He emphasised that yesterday, the contractor for the dam on this section of the state border was selected in a tender. 

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Maciej Wąsik, presented details of the investment carried out on the border with the Russian Federation and thanked all the services subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration for their dedicated service in protecting the frontiers and the security of Polish citizens. 

The team gave a favourable opinion of the proposal to select the company Telbud SA from Poznań, which will build a perimeter barrier on the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast. The amount of the investment is more than PLN 350 million for 200 km of the border, he pointed out. In addition to the traditional thanks to the Border Guard, the Police, and the Armed Forces, I would like to include the extraordinary participation of the Fire Service in handling all the incidents that happen here. The Fire Brigade's professionals and local volunteers greatly assist the Border Guard officers. I am also grateful to the local government, which supports the Border Guard daily in its work in this vast task of maintaining order on the border with Belarus

noted Deputy Minister Maciej Wąsik.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard, Major General Tomasz Praga, emphasised the commitment of uniformed officers and soldiers. 

Once again, in this very place, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Police officers, soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces, firefighters of the State Fire Service, as well as the Volunteer Fire Service and, closest to my heart, the Border Guard for their daily, difficult and dangerous service. They are the ones who prove every day that serving our beloved Blessed Republic is our true calling, said the Commander-in-Chief. In a month, we will be celebrating Christmas, and I want to ask you, while sitting at the Christmas table, to remember those who, among others, will be serving in such difficult conditions as today so that you can spend this Christmas with your family, in peace and feel safe. And you will feel safe because they will be guarding the borders of our homeland

 he added.

The General stressed that the installation brought the expected effect by making it much more difficult for Belarusian services to carry out operations against security at the country's border. 

First, a physical barrier was created, protecting us from another wave of illegal immigrants. Moreover, after it was made, attacks by Belarusian officers and illegal immigrants on our patrols on duty at the border practically stopped

stated the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard 

Polish-Belarusian border surveillance centre

Before the conference, Minister Mariusz Kamiński and Deputy Minister Maciej Wąsik met at the headquarters of the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit with the commander of this unit, Brig. SG Andrzej Jakubaszek. 

The Commander of the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit provided the heads of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration with the information concerning progress in implementing the electronic barrier in the Podlaskie Voivodeship and presented the newly created barrier monitoring centre on the Polish-Belarusian border. The new technical capabilities of the electronic installation allow officers of the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit to monitor all movements in the border strip with Belarus on an ongoing basis. 

The surveillance and monitoring centre constitutes an essential element of the early response system to possible adverse events such as attempts at the illegal border crossing. The information from the sensors on the border allows the Border Guard officers to respond immediately and estimate the degree of threat. 

Securing the state border

The execution of the electronic barrier was entrusted to ELEKTROTIM S.A. It will cover the entire land border with Belarus. The investment value is approximately PLN 343 million.

The installation length is approximately 206 km. It is divided into 11 functional sections. The entire investment envisages the setting up of 2,100 camera poles, about 3,000 cameras (day/night and thermal imaging), about 400 km of detection cables (on the fence and below the ground surface), 200 km of power cables, 200 km of transmission cables and 11 containers of teletechnical lines. 

On the other hand, the physical dam covered about 187 km along the border with Belarus. The construction of the steel spans was entrusted to a consortium of three entities - POLIMEX MOSTOSTAL SA, the consortium leader, and the companies: MOSTOSTAL Siedlce Sp. z o.o. and Węglokoks SA. Two contractors were responsible for the construction work - BUDIMEX SA (section no. 1 with a length of 54.82 km and no. 2 with a length of 50.73 km) and the consortium of UNIBEP SA (the consortium leader) and BUDREX Sp. z o.o. (section no. 3 and no. 4 with a length of 36.73 km and 43.97 km, respectively).

The physical border protection is 5.5 m high. It is made of 4.5 m high steel panels topped with a coil of wire (concertina). The essential elements are steel spans. Approximately 49,000 tonnes of steel were used to construct the protection.

The physical dam is equipped with special animal crossings analogous to the construction of motorways. Border rivers, and watercourses are not fenced. Other border protection systems have been applied along these sections to allow wild animals to cross the border freely.

The Act on the Construction of State Border Barrier became effective on 4 November 2021. It sets out the rules for the implementation of the construction of the state border installation, as our border is also the European Union's external border. The solution created a legal basis for this investment's rapid and efficient implementation.