Countries on NATO's eastern flank are expanding their armed forces, building extensive defensive fortifications, and preparing to rely primarily on their own capabilities during the first days of a potential conflict with russia because of uncertainty over the U.S. position, Politico writes, as reported by ua.news.
Journalists from the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network examined the preparedness of the three most vulnerable sections of Europe's border—Finland, Poland, and Lithuania. The main catalyst for the accelerated fortification of the borders has been uncertainty regarding Washington's position: U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned the effectiveness of NATO's Article 5, and following the recent war in Iran, the U.S. side even threatened to reconsider its membership in the alliance because European allies refused to support that conflict.
At the same time, satellite imagery shows an increasing russian military presence and the expansion of infrastructure near Europe's borders.
In Finland, which has the longest land border with russia, the military and political leadership is deliberately not counting on immediate assistance from allies and is preparing to withstand the initial attack on its own, using the harsh climate and dense forests to its advantage.
Poland is implementing the large-scale Eastern Shield fortification project, worth approximately €10 billion, and is also accelerating the development of its own SAN counter-drone system following an incident in which 19 russian drones breached its airspace.
The most challenging situation remains in the Baltic states, which, because of their limited strategic depth, have little room for maneuver. In the worst-case scenario, if the Suwałki Corridor is blocked, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia would have to conduct autonomous defensive operations for up to two weeks while awaiting reinforcements from more distant members of the alliance.