GETTY Poland is planning to ready a 46,000-strong force

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The first unit of Polish troops in the newly created national guard could be stationed along the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad as early as this year. Polish defence officials confirmed three brigades would be sent to the country’s north east by the end of 2016. Fears over Russian expansionism have been heightened since the annexation of crimea in 2014.

Trident Juncture 2015 Fri, November 6, 2015 The exercise involves 36,000 personnel from more than 30 Allied and Partner Nations, and takes place throughout Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and also Canada, Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Play slideshow Micha Zieli ski 1 of 10 NATO military forces at San Gregorio training area, Spain

Moscow’s involvement in the Syrian civil war has also fuelled concern that the Kremlin is willing to interfere in foreign wars to advance its own aims. Commenting on the plans, Antoni Macierewicz, the Polish defence minister, said: “We already have the ‘green light’ and have started on the preliminary measures for forming a territorial defence force that will be an integral part of the army.” According to the Telegraph, the minister said the new force was one of the Poland’s “most important” goals, with around £60million being spent on it.

Bartlomiej Misiewicz, a defence ministry spokesman, added that three brigades would be readied in 2016: ”We are committed to placing them in the north-east of the country.” Warsaw’s spending on defence has ramped up in recent years, with an 18 per cent rise in the last year alone. The increase brought Poland in line with the Nato spending pledge that all members should contribute at least two per cent of their GDP to defence. The country spent £6.6billion on defence in 2015, up from £5.6bn a year earlier.

GETTY Fears over Russian expansionism have been heightened since the annexation of crimea in 2014

GETTY Polish defence officials confirmed three brigades would be sent to the country’s north east

GETTY Warsaw’s spending on defence has ramped up in recent years

Poland has long been viewed as the frontline with Russia, particularly by its Nato allies who have stationed weapons systems inside its borders to deter an attack from Moscow. Warsaw has ordered eight Patriot missile systems from the US at a cost of more than £1.7bn.