The EU wants to create a defense line on the border with Russia and Belarus

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have called on the European Union to build a defense line along the bloc's border with Russia and Belarus to protect against military threats and other harmful actions by Moscow. This was reported by Reuters.

In a letter to the EU president, the leaders of the four countries bordering Russia and Belarus said the project is designed to protect the 27-nation bloc of 450 million people.

"The creation of a system of defense infrastructure along the EU's external border with Russia and Belarus will address the acute and urgent need to protect the EU from military and hybrid threats," the letter says.

Hybrid threats are reportedly a combination of military and non-military threats, as well as disinformation, cyberattacks, economic pressure and the displacement of migrants across borders.

Some EU diplomats have estimated the cost of building such a defense line along the EU's 700-kilometer border with Russia and Belarus at around 2.5 billion euros ($2.67 billion).

According to the agency, European investment in defense will be one of the main topics of discussion for EU leaders at the summit, as the Russian-Ukrainian war has been going on for three years and Moscow is intensifying hybrid operations against the West.

"Extraordinary measures must be taken, as the EU's external border must be protected by military and civilian means," the four countries said in a letter.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 27/06/2024