In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, the leaders of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia said the initiative would need the financial support of all EU members, the Reuters news agency reported.
"Building a defence infrastructure system along the EU external border with Russia and Belarus will address the dire and urgent need to secure the EU from military and hybrid threats," said the letter of the four leaders, as cited by Reuters.
"The scale and costs of this joint endeavour require a dedicated EU action to support it both politically and financially," the letter added.
"Extraordinary measures need to be employed as the EU's external border must be protected and defended with military and civilian means," the four leaders also said in their letter, as quoted by Reuters.
The appeal was expected to be discussed at an EU summit in Brussels starting on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia all share borders with Russia and its ally Belarus.
Poland this month reinstated a buffer zone at its eastern border with Belarus after a soldier was fatally stabbed in what officials said was an attack by illegal migrants assisted by Belarusian security forces.
Last month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis appealed to the European Commission to create a Europe-wide air defence shield to provide the bloc’s airspace with protection from threats including aircraft, missiles and drones amid Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 855 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: Reuters, IAR, PAP