Poland to build Russia border towers at Kaliningrad

Poland's border with Kaliningrad is part of the external border of the European Union

Poland is to build observation towers along its land border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, according to a Polish news agency.

The six towers will be up to 50m (164ft) high and will stream images to Polish guards monitoring the 200km (124-mile) border, the PAP agency says.

The total cost is reported to be 14m zloty (£2.5m; $3.8m), with 75% coming from the EU's External Borders Fund.

The move follows reports that Russia has deployed missiles to Kaliningrad.

The reported deployment by Russia of short-range Iskander missiles comes amid heightened tensions with the West and Nato over Ukraine.

Polish border guard spokeswoman Miroslawa Aleksandrowicz told PAP: "We are currently in the test phase of the technical installations on the towers.

"We plan to be fully operational by June this year."

Poland's border with Kaliningrad is part of the external border of the European Union, with four road crossings into the Kaliningrad exclave.

Last year 3.2 million Poles and 3.3 million Russians passed through the border crossings, PAP reports.