Poland Extends Border Buffer Zone with Belarus for Another 90 Days

On 10 December, Poland extended the buffer zone on the border with Belarus for another 90 days.  This was reported by the country's Ministry of the Interior. A preventive measure in the form of detention was applied to 153 people. The ministry noted that the temporary ban on staying in the area adjacent to the Polish-Belarusian border had proved to be effective, so its operation was extended for another 90 days.

The buffer zone has been in operation for 180 days, and during this time the number of illegal border crossings has decreased by 41%.

‘From 13 June to 5 December this year, almost 11.2 thousand such attempts were recorded. During the same period, before the introduction of this zone, there were more than 19,000 such cases,’ the ministry said.

The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs also noted that from 1 January to 5 December 2024, border guards across the country charged 585 people with organising and facilitating illegal migration, including 274 Ukrainians, 82 Polish, 50 Belarusian and 30 Georgians. 

The buffer zone on the Polish-Belarusian border, which was introduced on 13 June this year, is approximately 60 km long. On a section of about 44.5 km, it is not possible to stay in the border zone to a depth of 200 m, and on a section of 16.1 km - up to 2 km.

In September, Polish border guards said that after the creation of a buffer zone on the border with Belarus, the number of attempts to illegally cross the border had decreased.

Earlier in November, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the construction of NATO's Eastern Shield fortification system had begun on the borders with Russia and Belarus.