The deputy head of Frontex, Uku Sarekanno, urged Europe to be ready to face hybrid threats on its borders. In his opinion, although the number of illegal migrant crossings on the eastern border of the EU may be decreasing, the problem will not disappear because on the other side of the border, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) remains active.
“As an Estonian, I know what that means,” he said.
He also thanked Polish border guards for their efforts during the migration crisis with Belarus and for helping Ukrainian refugees.
The deputy head of Frontex, who was attending the Polsecure fair in Kielce, Poland, acknowledged that migration has been weaponized before, but never in such a direct manner as by the Belarusian government under Alexander Lukashenko.
Sarekanno urged countries in the EU to be ready for the worst-case scenario of further hybrid attacks coming from the east.
“Any wave of illegal migration on the eastern flank of the EU has to be regarded as an operation inspired by the security services of the Putin and Lukashenko regimes,” he added.
Speaking at the same event in Kielce, the deputy of Poland’s Border Guard, Gen. Wioleta Gorzkowska, noted that despite the border guards suffering from “hate” attacks against them for guarding the border, she remained convinced that their response to the crisis on the border had been justified.
Her officers had stood up to hybrid warfare from Belarus and Russia while managing to help Ukrainians, she said.
