Warsaw: In response to growing concerns about illegal immigration, the Polish government announced on Wednesday that it will send 2,000 more troops, or twice as many as the Border Guard agency had asked for, to its border with Belarus. Maciej Wasik, a deputy interior minister, made the announcement and charged the Belarusian government with orchestrating illegal migration in an interview with the state news agency PAP.
Although it still does not match the situation from two years ago, he claimed that the migration pressure on the Polish-Belarusian border area is growing.
At that time, a large number of migrants from the Middle East and Africa arrived at the border, their travel there facilitated by flights and visas provided by the Minsk government — something Warsaw considered to be a form of "hybrid warfare."
Wasik asserted that these crossings would not be present at all if there were actual border guards on the other side, as opposed to a smuggling service. Building a tall steel wall as payback, Polish authorities reduced but did not completely stop the flow of migrants and refugees across the border.
Other worries have arisen as a result of Russia's conflict with Ukraine, such as the short-lived mutiny of the Wagner group mercenaries in Russia and their subsequent presence this summer in Belarus.
This week, Belarus also started conducting military drills close to its borders with Poland and Lithuania. Additionally, two Belarusian helicopters briefly entered Polish airspace last week in what Warsaw perceived as a premeditated provocation.
The new soldiers will join the 2,000 already stationed at the border. According to PAP, they assist the efforts of hundreds of police and Border Guard personnel.
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Within the next two weeks, according to Wasik, the new troops will arrive at their destination.
Poland's parliamentary elections will take place on October 15th, according to the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda. As they run for a third term, the ruling authorities with whom he is allied have been attempting to convince voters that they are serious about security and defence