Poland accuses Belarus and Russia of being behind new wave of migrants
(Baonghean.vn) - According to DW, Poland's border guards have called on the country's Defense Ministry to deploy 1,000 more troops along the border with Belarus. Minsk is facing accusations that it is using migrants as a means of "hybrid warfare" against the EU.
Earlier this week, Poland accused Belarusian and Russian secret services of organizing a wave of migrants into the European Union (EU) through Poland's border.
“We are talking about an operation organized by the Russian and Belarusian secret services that is getting more and more intense. We need more forces at the border,” Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik told Polish news agency PAP.
The official also assessed that the situation “is not as chaotic as it was two years ago,” when thousands of migrants were stranded at the Poland-Belarus border.
In 2021, tens of thousands of migrants attempted to cross into Poland from neighboring Belarus, prompting Western governments to accuse Minsk of staging a “hybrid” attack. Belarus has denied the accusation.
On August 7, Poland’s border guards called on their defense ministry to send 1,000 more troops to the border, with the head of the country’s border guards, Tomasz Praga, accusing Belarusian secret services of “making huge profits” from “illegal migration.”
According to Praga, since the beginning of the year, 19 thousand migrants have tried to enter Poland from Belarus, compared to 16 thousand in all of 2022. To date, 5,000 border guards and 2,000 soldiers have been deployed to Poland's border with Belarus.
The Polish army has also deployed additional troops to the East due to the presence of the private military group Wagner in Belarus.
Belarus President: Wagner fighters want to advance on Polish capital
DNUM_CEZAHZCACD 08:26
