NATO Eastern Flank States Build Fortifications and Prepare to Fight Alone as Finland Lithuania and Poland Plan Independent Defense

According to a Politico investigation by Axel Springer's Global Reporters Network 123, Finland, Poland, and Lithuania are expanding armies, building fortifications, and buying tanks and drones to prepare for the possibility of fighting the opening days of a Russian attack largely alone, a push driven partly by President Trump questioning NATO's Article 5 commitments and threatening to reassess US alliance membership after the Iran conflict 2. Finland, which shares a 1,343-kilometer border with Russia, can mobilize nearly 870,000 reservists and plans to raise defense spending from roughly 3 percent to 5 percent of GDP by 2035, while pursuing landmine purchases after withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention 3. Poland, which fields NATO's third-largest army behind the US and Turkey, has raised 2026 defense spending to 4.8 percent of GDP, committed roughly 10 billion euros to its "Eastern Shield" fortification project, and budgeted up to 4 billion euros for its SAN drone-countermeasure system following an incursion in which 19 Russian drones breached Polish airspace 2. Lithuania, currently hosting about 3,000 NATO troops with a roughly 5,000-strong German armored brigade due by the end of 2027, would along with Latvia and Estonia need to sustain autonomous defensive operations for up to two weeks in a worst-case blockade of the Suwalki Corridor while awaiting reinforcement 2. Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, have denied any intent to attack NATO members 4.