Poland's Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński stated that the republic has installed over 1,000 automatic emergency alert sirens along the eastern border with Ukraine. According to him, the expansion of the network was a direct response to a change in the tactics of Russian strikes, as a result of which border crossings and border infrastructure are increasingly being targeted by missiles and loitering munitions. RBC-Ukraine reports this, citing Polskie Radio.

From 30 Sirens to Over a Thousand: The Pace of Expansion

The scale of the transformation of the alert system becomes evident when comparing figures over several years. In early 2024, only about 30 sirens with remote activation capability were operating in Poland's eastern region; subsequently, their number grew to nearly 350, and by September 2026, according to the Interior Ministry, exceeded one thousand. Kierwiński emphasized that Warsaw is forced to actively deploy additional tools for protecting the civilian population against the backdrop of a sustained increase in threats near the state border.

A Change in Tactics: From Strikes on the Depth to Border Proximity Targets

The head of Poland's Interior Ministry noted that Russia has changed its attack strategy: if previously strikes were predominantly delivered against objects deep within Ukrainian territory, now logistics hubs, fuel stations, and transport infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of the Polish border are increasingly becoming targets. It is this restructuring of tactics, according to Warsaw's assessment, that required a radical strengthening of civil defense means on the country's eastern flank.

A Series of Incidents That Prompted the Decision

The decision to accelerate the expansion of the siren network was made after a series of high-profile incidents. During Russia's large-scale aerial attack on western Ukraine, Polish and NATO fighter jets were scrambled, and the airports of Lublin and Rzeszów temporarily suspended operations. Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed a powerful explosion several hundred meters from the Dorohusk border crossing, caused by a strike on a Ukrainian fuel station. On September 13, 2026, a Russian drone hit the locomotive of a passenger train at a station located two kilometers from the border with Poland — shortly after a diplomatic train had departed from the same station. At the same time, Poland's airspace was not violated during any of the aforementioned episodes; however, the proximity of hostilities significantly heightened concerns about the security of the eastern flank.

Electronic Barrier and Comprehensive Protective Measures

In addition to installing sirens, Warsaw is erecting an electronic barrier on the border with Ukraine. A cutting-edge protection and surveillance system is being deployed along a stretch of over 100 km, which should strengthen monitoring and rapid response against the backdrop of constant Russian provocations in the border zone. The combination of measures — from air cover to ground-based alert systems and electronic monitoring — forms a multi-level architecture of civil defense, which Polish authorities describe as necessary in conditions where hostilities are unfolding in the immediate vicinity of the state border.

Contradictory Data

The provided sources do not record a unified chronology for the intermediate stage of network expansion (the transition from 30 to 350 sirens): in Kierwiński's statement, this figure is given without precise reference to a month or quarter of 2024–2025. At the same time, the final value — over 1,000 devices — is confirmed directly by the minister and does not give rise to discrepancies between Polskie Radio and RBC-Ukraine. Differences in details do not affect the key conclusion about the multiple expansion of the system over two years.