Poland, in coordination with NATO alliance battle groups, is preparing tactical exercises in the Baltic Spit region near the Kaliningrad area. This information comes from a published briefing by the press service of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division.
The exercises, named Zalev-23, are scheduled for March 27 to 31. They will involve units from the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division, including ground forces, navy elements, logistics and support services, along with allied forces from a NATO battalion group. In total, about 2,500 personnel will participate, supported by roughly 500 pieces of equipment.
According to the division’s spokesperson, Major Magdalena Koscinska, the central scenario will involve seizing control of the Baltic Spit. Troops will simulate crossing the terrain on vehicles and will practice conditionally relocating damaged equipment as part of the operational drills.
The stated aim of Zalev-23 is enhanced counter-terrorism cooperation focused on safeguarding the facility and potential hostages. Additionally, Poland and NATO will conduct naval reconnaissance exercises toward the Gdansk and Kaliningrad gulfs in the Vistula region.
The Polish Army representative noted that Zalev-23 would stand as the largest military exercise of 2023 for the Polish forces and their partners in the area.
The Baltic Spit is a narrow 65-kilometer strip of land that separates the Kaliningrad Bay from the main portion of the Gdansk Bay in the Baltic Sea. The border between Poland and Russia runs along this spit. On the eastern side lies Baltiysk, the westernmost Russian city, while on the western side sits the Polish town of Konty Rybatske.
Following Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Warsaw has repeatedly signaled a commitment to strengthening armed forces in the Kaliningrad vicinity. On March 17, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced that the 16th mechanized division, stationed in Olsztyn, will receive reinforcement with American HIMARS MLRS. The United States had previously agreed to supply these systems in 2019.
Blaschak stated that the 16th mechanized division is growing stronger each day, emphasizing that the goal is to strengthen Poland’s defenses so that Vladimir Putin would think twice before considering any attack. In addition to HIMARS, the division is expected to receive South Korean K2 tanks and K9 howitzers.
On March 24, Miroslava Aleksandrovich, the press secretary for the Warmia-Mazury Border Guard region, reported that a 100-kilometer barbed wire barrier has been constructed along sections of the border with Kaliningrad. He noted ongoing work to extend this fencing along portions managed by border outposts and estimated that almost half of the land border with Russia is now fenced.
The border fence project began in November of the previous year as a response to migrant flows. The barrier features three layers of barbed wire standing 2.5 meters tall and 3 meters wide. In response, Kaliningrad’s governor suggested constructing a wall using Kaliningrad bricks as a possible alternative material solution.
Officials from Warsaw indicated that a broader barrier with electronic sensors was planned to be erected along the entire 199-kilometer land border with Russia, with an estimated cost of about 373 million zloty (roughly 85 million US dollars).