Poland plans to create a specialized border defense brigade that will be responsible for the section of the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region. As RMF24 reports, this is not about forming a unit from scratch, but about transforming the existing 4th Warmian-Masurian Territorial Defense Brigade. The reorganization is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, and the unit should reach full readiness within the next two years.
According to the brigade commander, Colonel Cezary Kiszkowiak, its tasks will be monitoring the border area, supporting the border service and readiness, if necessary, to take on the military defense of the border. He emphasized that the unit will not replace border guards; this is about defense in the event of a threat, and not about daily border protection. Military personnel are already being equipped with additional equipment.
The brigade will become part of the Border Defense Component being created within the Territorial Defense Forces. It will unite four brigades — Podlaska, Warmian-Masurian, Nadbuzhanskaya and Przemysl. They will also be transferred the infrastructure of the “Eastern Shield” program, aimed at strengthening Poland’s eastern borders.
