Poland reinforces border as migrant standoff intensifies
WARSAW, Poland — Poland reinforced its border with Belarus with more riot police Tuesday, a day after groups of migrants tried to storm through a razor-wire fence on the eastern frontier where thousands have camped on the Belarusian side in the tense standoff.
The European Union accuses Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a “hybrid attack” against the bloc in retaliation for imposing sanctions on the authoritarian government for a brutal internal crackdown on dissent. Thousands were jailed and beaten following months of protests after Lukashenko won a sixth term in a 2020 election that the opposition and the West saw as rigged.
Polish authorities said all was calm overnight on the border — which is also the eastern edge of the 27-nation EU — but they were bracing for any possibility. The Defense Ministry said a large group of Belarusian forces was moving toward the migrant encampments.
During a special session of parliament, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described the situation at the border as part of an effort by Russia to disrupt a region that it controlled during the Soviet era that ended three decades ago.
“It must be strongly emphasized that the security of our eastern border is being brutally violated. This is the first such situation in 30 years when we can say that the integrity of our borders is being tested,” Morawiecki said.
Polish Maj. Katarzyna Zdanowicz estimated 3,000-4,000 migrants were along the border, including about 800 near the makeshift camp.
She said Poland’s assessment came from aerial observations, alleging that Belarus authorities were taking journalists to the area to promote their version of events.
There was no way to verify many of the details because independent journalists have limited ability to operate inside Belarus, and a state of emergency in Poland kept reporters and others away from the border area.