Poland to deploy more than 1,000 sirens in Lublin voivodeship by end of 2026

Poland is sharply accelerating the construction of a civil defense system in Lublin voivodeship, which borders Ukraine: more than a thousand remote-activated sirens will be installed there by the end of 2026.

This was announced by the country’s interior minister, Marcin Kierwiński.

The interior minister said that at the start of 2024, Lublin voivodeship had around 30 sirens that could be activated remotely. Today there are nearly 350, and by the end of the current year there will be more than a thousand.

“We are building a civil defense system practically from scratch. This shows how quickly we are developing the population alert system,” — Kierwiński said while in Lublin.

The minister also noted that Russia has recently changed its strategy of aggression against Ukraine and has been attacking border crossing points on the border with Poland for many days in a row. In response, the country has decided to accelerate security measures for residents of Lublin and Subcarpathian voivodeships.

On September 17, one such incident occurred: a jet drone fell or was destroyed four kilometers from the Ukrainian-Polish border. Before that, at the end of August and the beginning of September, Russian forces attacked three Ukrainian border crossing points on the border with Moldova. At the same time, drone incidents and acts of sabotage are being recorded in various European countries.

In addition to the sirens, the Polish State Fire Service, in coordination with the head of Lublin voivodeship, is beginning to implement a project to mark shelter locations. According to the Polish government, the region already has nearly 3,500 such locations. Across the country, authorities plan to mark 85,000 such facilities by the end of 2026.

“In a crisis situation, these places can and must be used to protect the civilian population. This is an important element of the population protection system we are building. We are on the right track. And we have very, very little time,” — Kierwiński added.

The government also announced special drills on responding to alarm signals and warning messages at more than 500 State Fire Service posts and units of the Volunteer Fire Service in Lublin and Subcarpathian voivodeships.

On September 17, Polish Prime Minister Tusk stated that the Kremlin’s plans include hybrid drone and missile attacks against states supporting Ukraine. The following day, U.S. President Trump, commenting on Polish concerns, said that Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s allies for several years.