Polish PM promises to fortify shared border with Belarus amid surge in illegal crossings

May 11, Pozirk. Warsaw is the target of an ongoing hybrid war, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has told journalists, referring to the illegal migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border that started three years ago.
He described Belarus as a country with increasingly aggressive intentions towards Poland that keeps facilitating illegal crossings of the Polish border by third-country foreigners.
Tusk made the statement as he visited the Podlaskie voivodeship in northeastern Poland, where he met with servicemen and border guards in the village of Krynki, located less than one kilometer from Belarus.

In June 2023, Warsaw completed the construction of a 206-km long fence at the Polish-Belarusian border and is now planning to upgrade fortifications at its eastern border, which is also the European Union’s frontier, Tusk said, noting that illegal border crossings picked up pace recently.
The safety of all Poles depends on the border guards’ service and the government is planning amendments to existing legislation to support them, he added.
Since the start of 2024, the EU thwarted at least 13,367 illegal border crossings at its shared border with Belarus with 2,248 attempts recorded in the first nine days of May alone and Poland being the major target.
The migration crisis dates back to spring 2021, when Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent migrants from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU. It escalated in November 2021, with hundreds of migrants storming the Polish border.
The Baltic states and Poland accused Belarusian authorities of creating the trouble, while the latter blamed it on the West.
In August 2023, the interior ministers of Poland and the Baltic States warned that they would close the border with Belarus in response to a surge in illegal migration.
Two days ago, the ByPol association of former Belarusian law enforcers said that Łukašenka’s security services are massing migrants, expecting them to storm the Polish border soon.
EU stops over 2,000 illegal entries from Belarus since beginning of May
- Politics, SecurityMinsk court sentences five Belarusian volunteer fighters to lengthy prison termsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyMore than 17,000 Belarusians visited Georgia in Q1The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityArmy battalion conducting offensive exercise near AsipovičyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsUN experts sound alarm over forced psychiatric treatment of Belarusian dissidentsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Economy
- PoliticsRights group reports raids in Dziaržynsk, exiled Belarusians targetedThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- PoliticsSikorski, Rubio discuss migration crisis at Polish-Belarusian borderThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: police punish criticism of Łukašenka’s policiesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCatholic priest free after reported April 23 arrestThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyBelarus arrests French man on suspicion of hashish smugglingThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus’ police arrest Catholic priest, evangelical pastorThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Belarus to build nuclear disposal site in Mahiloŭ region, Astraviec district or radiation-contaminated areaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, PoliticsBelarus, Russia postpone common oil market until 2027The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsRussian-Ukrainian war to determine Belarus’ future - SikorskiThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus’ foreign minister hushes up Russia’s defense spending hike in his speech at museumThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Politics, SecurityBelarus, Qatar discuss training exchangesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyPolice claim to have exposed provocateurs over viral videoThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsOpposition leader to visit US on May 1 – 7The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOfficial: 44 criminal cases filed in 2024 for donations to banned initiatives, mediaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsVilnius: Minsk, Moscow plot attacks on exiled Belarusians in LithuaniaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarusian PM postpones trip to Russia's Tatarstan for security reasonsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyBelarus posts 249 record temperatures since mid-AprilThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Economy
- EconomyJob openings soar under Łukašenka's 30-year rule as labor shortages deepenThe material is available only to POZIRK+