Poland is sending additional troops to the Belarusian border

AA / Warsaw / Joe Harper

Poland has increased the number of its troops on its border with Belarus in recent weeks, Poland’s defense minister said on Tuesday.

“A secure border is the basis of Poland’s security,” Mariusz Blaszczak told Polish Radio.

According to Blaszczak, about 10,000 troops have been deployed along the border so far, including 4,000 directly on the fence and 6,000 in reserve.

He said the move was a response to “pressure from illegal migrants sent by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Minsk… There are also increasing reports of attacks by migrants throwing stones at our patrols.”

“There is no doubt that these attacks were planned in Moscow. This whole attack on Poland is the Kremlin’s idea to destabilize our country,” he added.

Blaszczak also said that the Polish army will provide assistance to the border guards on the Slovak border.

Soldiers will have the same prerogatives as border guards, including inspections. “Operational soldiers, territorial defense forces and military engineering units have been sent to the borders,” said the Polish Minister of Defense.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mariusz Kaminski, for his part, said at a press conference held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Warsaw on Tuesday that the government has decided to temporarily resume control of the Slovak border.

“The control will be implemented at midnight”, the minister said, adding that it will be implemented for 10 days initially, but it will most likely continue.

According to Kaminski, illegal migration through Slovakia has increased by almost 1,000% since last year. He added that some foreigners were passing through Poland to Germany and other EU countries. “In just two weeks, we found and arrested 551 illegal migrants,” he explained.

*Translated from English by Murad Belhaj