Four NATO countries demand a defence line along the border with Russia and Belarus

NATO member states Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland have called on the EU to build defence infrastructure along its 1,000km border with Russia and Belarus.

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The leaders of the four countries that share a land border, either with Russia or Belarus, called for "extraordinary" measures to protect themselves and their allies.

"Establishing a defence infrastructure system along the EU's external border with Russia and Belarus would address the acute and urgent need to protect the EU from military and hybrid threats," they said in a joint letter sent to the EU president.

They said the plan is due to be discussed at a two-day summit in Brussels starting on 27 June, during which EU leaders will discuss defence funding, among other issues. Given the size and cost of the effort, which some EU diplomats estimate will be around $2.7 billion, this is a bloc-wide effort that is equally necessary.

It is worth noting that NATO countries along the border with Belarus and Russia have faced increasing threats from Russian hybrid warfare, namely the unconventional methods used by Moscow.

For example, Russia has recently changed the coastline of buoys delimiting the territorial waters between Russia and Estonia on the Narva River. A day later, it was reported that Russia wants to redraw Russian territorial waters with Estonia, Lithuania and Finland. In addition, problems with satellite navigation systems in the Baltic region have intensified, with signals likely being jammed by Moscow.

Source: Reuters