German troops head to the Poland-Belarus border without needing Bundestag vote
Germany will deploy military engineers to eastern Poland, specifically along the volatile Poland-Belarus border and near the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, to help fortify the NATO eastern flank.
The German Defense Ministry in Berlin announced the move, which comes amid mounting security tensions fueled by Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, RFI reports.
The contingent's mission is strictly technical, focused entirely on defense engineering activities. This includes the preparation of defensive barriers: the construction of fortifications, the digging of trenches, the installation of barbed wire, and the erection of anti-tank barriers.
The ministry official clarified that Germany’s support is limited exclusively to these engineering tasks, emphasizing its non-combat, purely defensive nature. The specific number of troops was not disclosed, described only as a deployment of several dozen military personnel.
This deployment of German troops in Poland is scheduled to take place from the second quarter of 2026 until the end of 2027. Berlin stressed that parliamentary approval from the Bundestag (German Parliament) is not necessary because the soldiers face no immediate military danger—a condition that normally mandates a parliamentary vote for German army foreign missions abroad.
Poland, a staunch ally and vocal proponent of a firm stance against Russian aggression, announced plans for fortifying a long stretch of its eastern border in May 2025. Since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, Warsaw has served as a crucial logistical corridor for Western arms deliveries to Kyiv, simultaneously undertaking a massive defense budget increase and military modernization program.
Germany remains the second largest provider of military aid to Ukraine, trailing only the United States, supplying sophisticated air defense systems, armored vehicles, and other critical military equipment.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
