Latest news with #PolishBorderGuard
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland-Belarus border crossings to remain closed, Polish official says
There is no "possibility" that Poland will reopen its border checkpoints with Belarus, Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on April 19. On April 5, the Polish Border Guard and Polish media reported that the migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border is escalating with "increasing brutality." Belarus and Russia have repeatedly coordinated the arrival of migrants seeking asylum at the EU's eastern border. Siemoniak noted that Poland would like to open the border with Belarus, but said that the border will remain closed as long as Belarus threatens Poland's border security. "As long as Belarus behaves this way towards (Poland), I do not see any possibility that anything will change in this area. We would like... for these crossings to be open, for them to function normally," Siemoniak . The Polish official condemned Belarus for sending migrants to Poland's border and denounced Belarus's provocations towards Polish border guards. "(O)n the Belarusian side, we are dealing with the use of migrants, high-profile situations, recently, a uniformed officer threw stones at our border guards, at our cars," he said. Siemoniak emphasized the need for Poland to protect its border as a member of eastern flank and noted the responsibility Warsaw holds to protect the Schengen zone's external borders. "This is not only the border of Poland — it is the border of the , the Schengen zone, and NATO," he said. The onset of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022 soured relations between Belarus and Western nations due to Minsk's complacency in Russia's war. All of Poland's border checkpoints with Belarus, but one, have been to passenger traffic. Poland reported a surge of asylum seekers on its border with Belarus on April 5. "Tonight there were a lot of attempts to cross the , probably about 300, all thwarted," Polish Defense Minister Vladyslav Kosinyak-Kamysh said on April 5. "It is aimed at attacking Poland, not at trying to find shelter. To cross the border illegally is breaking the law," he added. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Moscow violates 'Easter truce,' Ukraine brings home 277 POWs in swap with Russia We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Euronews
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Two bodies believed to be migrants retrieved from river on Poland-Belarus border
ADVERTISEMENT Two bodies have been retrieved by authorities from the Bug River on Poland's border with Belarus. They are believed to be migrant men who had attempted to cross the border into Poland. Investigators are conducting an autopsy to determine the identities and cause of death of the bodies, which were significantly decomposed when they were found, according to Katarzyna Gągolińska of the Biała Podlaska police. The Polish Border Guard says that almost 300 attempts have been made to cross the Polish-Belarusian border in the Lublin province since the start of this year. Dariusz Sienicki, captain of the Bug River Border Guard Unit, says there is an upward trend compared with a year earlier. In 2024, approximately 530 reportedly tried to cross the border illegally, the Border Guard said. In the last 24 hours, the Border Guard rescued 13 people from the Bug River in another town in Lublin province. They were citizens of Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan, Sienicki said. Polish Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Maciej Duszczyk alleged that the bodies "were people who were pushed into the water by the Belarusian services" in mid-March. He claimed that this is a tactic used as provocation by Belarus. Members of a group of some 30 migrants seeking asylum in Bialowieza, Poland, on Sunday, 28 May 2023. AP Photo/Agnieszka Sadowska Warsaw has accused its neighbour Belarus of luring asylum seekers from countries in Africa and the Middle East and pushing them towards the Polish border to sow chaos and destabilise Poland. Authorities say it is a retaliation from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for EU-imposed sanctions. They say he gives orders in cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to punish the EU over its support for Ukraine. At the end of March, Poland temporarily suspended the right of migrants arriving via its border with Belarus to apply for asylum. That legislation was widely criticised by human rights groups , which fear it may worsen a current humanitarian crisis. The border area is notorious for its dangerous terrain and harsh conditions, including exposure to freezing winter temperatures and inadequate access to food, shelter and aid. Paired with physical barriers imposed by the Polish government, the forest has become a trap for people travelling to the border, often resulting in a significant number of injuries, disappearances and fatalities.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Increasing brutality' reported as Poland-Belarus border crisis escalates
The migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border is escalating with "increasing brutality," the Polish Border Guard and Polish media reported on April 5. Tensions between Poland, a NATO country, and Russian ally Belarus have surged following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Warsaw has also for several years accused Belarus of deliberately pushing migrants into Poland in order to pressure the EU over sanctions, a charge Belarus has denied. Hundreds of illegal migrants, mainly from Sudan and Afghanistan, attempted to enter Poland illegally overnight on April 5, Polsat News reported, citing Polish Defense Minister Vladyslav Kosinyak-Kamysh. "Tonight there were a lot of attempts to cross the border, probably about 300, all thwarted," Kosinyak-Kamysh said in a statement to Polsat News. "It is aimed at attacking Poland, not at trying to find shelter. To cross the border illegally is breaking the law," he added. While describing the situation on the border, Kosinyak-Kamysh said "the brutality is increasing," as those crossing the border were throwing stones and branches, and using angle grinders to cut the barrier. Belarus, led by dictator Alexander Lukashenko, has also provided extensive support to Moscow's war in Ukraine and the Belarusian army regularly conducts military drills along its border with Poland and other EU countries. Elsewhere in central Europe, the Latvian army has started digging an anti-tank ditch as part of the joint Baltic defense line along the country's borders with Russia and Belarus, the Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported on May 2, 2024. Meanwhile, on the Polish-German border, Polish border guards detained two Ukrainians helping migrants from Sudan and Afghanistan to cross the Poland-German border, the Polish Border Guard reported on April 4. Since the beginning of the migration crisis in 2021, at least 740 Ukrainians assisting migrants to leave Poland have been detained. Read also: As Russia refuses to accept ceasefire, will Trump pressure Moscow? We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
