Poland to Seal its Borders to Russian and Belarusian Lorries from 1st June
Mariusz Kaminski, Poland's Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, signed the order suspending freight traffic from Russian and Belarusian vehicles across the Belarusian border, reports PAP.
The document indicates that until further notice, Poland will not permit entrance from Belarus to freight vehicles, tractors, trailers, and semi-trailers registered in Belarus and Russia.
The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared this order in conjunction with the imposition of sanctions against 365 Belarusian officials in response to the imprisonment of an activist of the Polish national minority in Belarus, Andrzej Poczobut, co-chairman of the Union of Poles in Belarus.
Minister Kaminski ordered the preparation of sanctions back in February, the day following Poczobut's sentencing by a first-instance Belarusian court. Two days after the verdict, Poland suspended traffic at the Polish-Belarusian automobile border crossing in Bobrowniki until further instructions.
In response to this move, following the closure of the "Bobrowniki" checkpoint, the Belarusian regime imposed restrictions that prevent Polish carriers from using border crossings along the Belarusian border with Lithuania and Latvia.
In addition to this, their vehicles can only pass through customs at the Kukuryki-Kozlovichi checkpoint, with a terminal in Koroszczyn. This remains the only open Polish-Belarusian automobile crossing for freight transport as of now.
To recall, the latest deterioration of bilateral relations between Poland and Belarus took place in 2021 against the backdrop of renewed tensions between the West and Belarus, following the condemnation of the forced landing of a Ryanair plane and the arrest of journalist and blogger Roman Protasevich. In response, Warsaw banned Belarusian airlines from entering Polish airspace and joined other Western sanctions against the regime.
In retaliation, Lukashenko decided to blackmail the EU with migrants from Middle Eastern and North African countries, orchestrating a scheme for them to arrive in Belarus and cross the Lithuanian or Polish borders.
The issue was addressed by building barriers on the border and limiting the number of flights from African countries to Belarus. Moreover, Warsaw and Vilnius had to violate EU rules according to which the deportation of illegal migrants is possible only after reviewing their asylum application. Migrants were physically barred from entering European countries, forcing them to return to Belarus. Despite criticism from human rights defenders, Lukashenko's blackmail on the EU did not work.
However, this practice has allowed Minsk to accuse Poland of inhumane treatment of migrants and even outrightly lie about their mass killings, which was never substantiated. This illegal traffic still operates now, despite all the EU's efforts.