May 29, Pozirk. “Russia and Belarus rightly believe that if we cannot control the [eastern] border, then the far right will win elections in our countries and the European elections – and this will blow up the EU,” said Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, according to a Russian translation of his interview with la Repubblica, El Pais and Gazeta Wyborcza.
He said that at the border with Belarus, Poland faced an “organized attack on the European Union” rather than “migration of poor people who want a better life.”
“Ninety percent of the people trying to cross the Polish-Belarusian border have Russian visas in their passports. These people were called to come to various countries in Africa and the Middle East, brought to Moscow, then transported to Belarus and sent to the EU border,” he added.
Earlier today, it was reported that a Polish soldier was stabbed by a migrant who was trying to enter the country illegally with a large group of third-country foreigners.
His wound is serious but not life-threatening, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Czesław Mroczek told Polskie Radio. “The migratory pressure is rising, the aggression of these people is increasing. They are trying to break through the border in large groups, formed with the help of Belarusian services,” the minister said.
May is not over yet, but it has already become a record month for migrants trying to illegally enter the European Union from Belarus.
Over the first 26 days, Poland and Baltic states prevented 6,647 border violations from the country, 22.1 percent more than in the same period last month and 60.6 percent more than in the same period in May 2023.
Breakdown by country: Poland, 6,146 cases; Latvia, 467 cases; Lithuania, 34 cases.
Since the beginning of the year, the EU has prevented 17,766 intrusions, an increase of 18.9 percent over the same period in 2023.
The migration crisis at the border has been ongoing since the spring of 2021. The Polish government considers it a hybrid attack organized by the regimes of Alaksandar Łukašenka and Vladimir Putin.
Also read: Polish soldier hospitalized after knife attack at Belarus’ border
