Poland's defense minister announced Monday that the country will be undergoing a major military structure realignment, in a move that could send majority of the troops in the eastern border of the country.

The realignment is in response to the ongoing conflict in its neighboring country of Ukraine.

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In an interview with the Associated Press, Poland's Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said there is a change in the geopolitical situation, adding that the world is facing a crisis reminiscent of the Cold War.

Poland joined NATO in 1999, but majority of its army, composed of about 120,000 soldiers, is still deployed in the western part of the country, where it set up a base since being a member of a Soviet Bloc.

According to Semoniak, the army's situation is about to change, and by 2017, the current 30 percent military base capacity in the eastern border will reach 90 percent.

Despite not being able to give an exact number of additional troops, the Polish defense minister said the increase in capacity would be in thousands, and would also open about 400 air defense-related jobs in the Siedlce unit alone.

In addition, Siemoniak said the extensive military plan does not mean that the country is facing a threat, but that they are only drawing conclusions from the changing landscape of the geopolitical situation.

Siemoniak's announcement came after United States President Barack Obama went to Estonia in September, wherein he implored other members of NATO to step up in providing support for Ukraine.

Additionally, the editor of the United Kingdom's armed forces publication, Charles Heyman, released a statement saying Poland's move would send a clear message to Russia that the the border would represent a "red line which cannot be crossed."

Meanwhile, Russia has yet to respond to Poland's plan and may be hesitant to criticize its action, since the Kremlin has previously insisted that it had the right to send its forces anywhere within the country.

During the peak of the insurgency in Ukraine, the West confronted Russia for deploying its troops along the Ukrainian border to allegedly aid the pro-Russian rebels. 

TagsPoland, russia-ukraine, Poland military, military realignment, Tomasz Siemoniak, Cold War