World War 3 fears are mounting as Germany prepares to send troops to Poland’s borders with Belarus and Russia, amid escalating military threats and Russian aggression

13:12, 15 Dec 2025

View 3 ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin arrives at the hotel where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (not seen) was staying to meet with him(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

World War 3 fears are growing as Germany is reportedly set to deploy troops to Poland’s borders. This comes as Belarus and Russia are increasing military threats.

Fears are growing as Russian aggression continues while Europe can no longer rely on US military support. As a result, German soldiers are reportedly preparing to bolster Poland’s defences against further breaches of NATO airspace.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the move to send troops to dig trenches and build anti-tank barriers on Poland's borders with Belarus and Russia. Moreover, Merz reportedly noted that Europe could not rely on US support to counter Russia.

View 3 ImagesPoland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk leading an emergency meeting in Warsaw after Russian drones violated Polish airspace(Image: HANDOUT/AFP via Getty Images)

German soldiers will consequently focus on defensive "pioneering activities" such as "establishing positions, constructing trench systems, laying barbed wire, or erecting tank barriers". The plan, starting from next April, is part of the support to Poland's Eastern Shield.

Germany's defence ministry said: "A mid-double-digit number of soldiers from the army and the support sector will participate in Operation East Shield in the border region with Kaliningrad and Belarus." Operation Eastern Shield is Poland's £2bn national defence initiative, launched in May last year to protect the country's eastern borders, the Telegraph reported.

On Saturday (December 13), Merz reportedly said Europe had to prepare for the growing threat from Russia without US support. He said: "The decades of the Pax Americana are largely over for us in Europe and Germany.

View 3 ImagesPolish Army soldiers unload razor wire from a military truck while constructing a fence along the Polish border(Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"It no longer exists as we knew it. The Americans are now very, very aggressively pursuing their own interests.

"And that can only mean one thing: that we, too, must now pursue our own interests."

On October 19, Polish forces shot down Russian drones in their airspace, stoking concerns about a potential assault on the NATO member, which borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sounded the alarm on Thursday (December 11), cautioning that the West could soon face a confrontation with Russia on a scale not witnessed since the era of "our grandparents and great-grandparents".

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Earlier this month, 150 German soldiers and four Eurofighter jets were stationed in the Polish town of Malbork, just 50 miles from Kaliningrad, as part of NATO’s Air Policing Mission North, with a fifth jet set to join them soon.

Germany’s defence secretary, Nils Schmid, stressed last week: "Putin's aggressive behaviour shows us that we cannot afford to let up for a second in strengthening our defence readiness ... We are protecting the eastern flank from the far north to the Black Sea."

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