By Wojciech Kosc in Warsaw
Poland will limit the movement of non-residents along a section of its border with Belarus that is most vulnerable to “hybrid attacks” involving migrants, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on May 29.
The decision follows a non-fatal stabbing of a Polish soldier on May 28 as a group of around 50 people attempted to force their way across the border, according to Polish Border Guard.
Warsaw says that the Belarusian authorities are orchestrating the migrants' movements in a “hybrid war” aiming to destabilise Poland, a member of the EU and Nato.
“We made a joint decision with the military command, the Border Guard, and the police to deploy all possible resources … to ensure that your service is safe,” Tusk said while on a visit to Border Guard’s local headquarters in the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne, 10 km from the border with Belarus.
Movement restrictions will kick in from July 4 for 90 days, the ministry of home affairs and administration said. The affected are municipalities east of Hajnówka, located in, or near to, the Bialowieza Forest, a large dense forest with swampy areas.
The goal is to “limit the presence of unauthorised persons” in the area, the ministry said.
Poland has been criticised by NGOs for illegal pushbacks of migrants attempting to cross the border from Belarus.
The restrictions come after the Tusk government said it will reinforce the areas along the borders with Belarus and Russia with defence infrastructure such as anti-tank “dragon’s teeth” or trenches over the coming few years at a cost of PLN10bn (€2.4bn).
Fortified borders will be an element of a broader plan – named Shield East – to ensure national security, according to the government.
With Russia’s war raging in neighbouring Ukraine, Poland has grown tense about a scenario in which the Kremlin zeroes in on Poland if Ukraine has been defeated.
Poland already spends close to 4% of its GDP on defence, making it Nato’s top spender ahead of the US and Greece.
Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has also become the West’s strategic point for supplying Kyiv with weapons and ammunition. That made the country an ever more important target for Russia’s intelligence, disinformation, and cyberattacks.
