Poland Accuses Belarus and Russia of Orchestrating a New Wave of Migrants to Europe

The Polish government has accused Belarus and Russia of organizing yet another surge of migration across the Polish border into the European Union, with the intention of destabilizing the region.

Amid an escalating migration pressure along the Belarusian border, the head of Poland's Border Guard has requested an additional deployment of 1,000 military personnel to the Polish-Belarusian border, as reported by Wprost.

Tomasz Praga, the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard, revealed that between 6 and 7 trains are entering Belarus from Moscow daily. Migrants are collected at Belarusian border posts and then transported to the border region.

Praga emphasized that the responsibility for this situation lies with the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.

In response, Deputy Minister Mateusz Wonsik presented the current situation at the Polish-Belarusian border during a press briefing, as reported by the government's official website. The event also featured the participation of Chief Commander Tomasz Praga.

"Wonsik stated, "The migration pressure on the Polish-Belarusian border continues to escalate. We are dealing with a growing effort orchestrated by the intelligence agencies of Russia and Belarus." He emphasized that smugglers and Belarusian authorities are bringing people from 40 different countries, assisting them in illegally crossing the border.

Belarusian forces are attempting to damage the barrier, using power tools and attempting to cut through the vertical elements.

Wonsik drew attention to the increased aggression against Polish officers guarding the border. Illegal migrants frequently throw bottles, stones, and branches at them.

The security of Poland on the Belarusian border is ensured by both engineering and electronic barriers.

"Without the construction of the barrier on the Belarusian border, consisting of two elements - electronic and physical barriers - I wouldn't be speaking of 19,000 attempted illegal border crossings, and likely hundreds of thousands of such attempts," stated Praga, Head of the Border Guard.

Furthermore, it was disclosed that July marked a record month, with nearly 4,000 individuals attempting to cross the border illegally.

The engineering dam, operational since 2022, measures 187 km in length and stands at 5.5 meters in height. In 2023, the construction of the electronic firewall on the Belarusian border was completed. This system monitors a 206 km stretch of the border. The overall investment amounted to PLN 1.6 billion.

The Border Guard plans to reinforce security measures on the eastern border. Electronic devices will be installed on river sections of the border, such as the Bug River or the Neman River.

Conversely, construction of an electronic firewall is ongoing on the Polish-Russian border. Stretching approximately 200 km, the barrier will cover the entire land border with the Kaliningrad Oblast (except for the Vistula Spit - electronic devices have been in place on this section for several years).

"The majority of the electronic barrier on the border with the Kaliningrad region has already been completed, and the entire system will be operational by September," said Deputy Minister Mateusz Wonsik.

Within the dam's framework, approximately 3,000 cameras and 700 km of power, transmission, and detection cables will be installed.