Finland, Poland and Lithuania are building fortifications and enlarging their armies on the assumption that, in the first days of a Russian attack, they would be on their own. Politico reported the findings of a project by journalists from the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, relayed by the Ukrainian outlet ua.news.
The reporters looked at the three sections of Europe’s border they judged most vulnerable. The driver of the rush, they wrote, is doubt about Washington. President Donald Trump has questioned how effective NATO’s Article 5 mutual-defense clause is. After the recent war in Iran, the US side went further and threatened to reconsider its membership, because European allies would not back that conflict. Satellite imagery, meanwhile, shows a growing Russian military presence and more infrastructure near Europe’s borders.
Finland
Finland has the longest land border with Russia. Its military and political leaders are deliberately not counting on immediate help from allies. They plan to absorb the first blow themselves, using the harsh climate and dense forests to their advantage.
Poland
Warsaw is pressing ahead with Eastern Shield, a fortification project worth about €10 billion. It is also speeding up work on its own counter-drone system, called SAN, after an incident in which 19 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace.
The Baltic states
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are in the hardest position. With little strategic depth, they have almost no room to trade space for time. If the Suwałki Corridor were blocked in the worst case, the three would have to fight on their own for up to two weeks while reinforcements made their way from more distant allies.
