Opposition politician urges Poland to close railway crossing as migration tension mounts
Western Bug railway crossing at Belarusian-Polish border
June 7, Pozirk. Warsaw must send Minsk a strong message in response to the death of a Polish soldier stabbed in the line of duty at the border with Belarus, an exiled Belarusian opposition politician said yesterday in Lublin.
The attack occurred on May 28 as a large group of third-country nationals tried to cross from Belarus into Poland.
The stabbed soldier died in hospital 10 days later. Warsaw has demanded that Belarus extradite the attacker.
Poland and Lithuania should close the railway border crossings to crush Alaksandar Łukašenka economically, Pavieł Łatuška noted at his meeting with local Belarusians.
In August 2023, the interior ministers of Poland and the Baltic States warned Minsk that they would close the border with Belarus in response to a surge in illegal migration.
But Łatuška said European politicians lack the political will to tighten sanctions, expressing hope that Warsaw will take a tougher stance “based on law.”
The Belarusian ruler is responsible for the soldier’s death and continues doing everything to escalate tension with Poland, he said.
The migration crisis started in spring 2021 as Łukašenka’s “revenge for the EU sanctions,” he added, noting that Minsk’s support of Russia’s war on Ukraine should also be regarded from that angle.
Minsk is set to “unsettle the West and stir up tension” in the interests of Russia, which intends to occupy Belarus by non-military means, said the politician, who had fled his country for fear of arrest.
Moscow has told Łukašenka to destabilize the border to distract Belarus’ western neighbors from helping Ukraine, Łatuška stressed.
“How will Poles treat you and me after a Polish soldier died today? That was aimed at creating the worst possible living conditions for us [Belarusians in Poland],” the politician noted.
Illegal border crossings between Belarus and Poland have soared since February, reaching record highs in May.
Over the past few weeks, Polish border guards reported several physical attacks by aggressive migrants.
