An additional 500 police officers have been sent to secure the Polish-Belarusian border in response to the increasingly tense situation arising from the migration crisis sparked by the government of Alexander Lukashenko, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński announced on Sunday.
These new officers will join the 5,000 officers of the Polish Border Guard and 2,000 Polish soldiers who are currently ensuring the security of the border.
There is a risk that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko may increase the number of attempts to smuggle migrants from Belarus into Poland. Reports have emerged about the possible involvement of Wagner Group mercenaries, who arrived in Belarus as part of an agreement with Yevgeny Prigozhin following his failed coup attempt in Russia.
On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński announced that due to the presence of the Wagner Group in Belarus, a decision was made to strengthen the Polish defense on the eastern border.
“Security policy is inherently geared toward worst-case scenarios, and guided by this principle, we had to make these kinds of decisions,” said Kaczyński.
Over the past two months, there has been a growing number of individuals attempting to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border. Just on Saturday, 187 people, including citizens of Iran and Somalia, attempted to enter Poland illegally from Belarus.
