Belarus–Poland border

Hundreds of migrants who were camped in the cold on the Poland-Belarus border have been moved to a nearby warehouse in Belarusian territory, reports said on Nov. 17, with some still harboring hopes of entering the European Union.

In an escalation of the migrant crisis being fomented by Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko, with the alleged help of his political ally Russian President Vladimir Putin, designed to destabilise EU countries and test their military capabilities, tensions began growing when a large group of migrants on Monday attempted to cross into Poland at an official border-crossing point.

European Union officials on Nov. 10 accused Belarus of state-sponsored "trafficking" of human lives by luring desperate migrants to the Polish border, the edge of the EU, where many are now stuck in makeshift camps in freezing weather.

Poland is stepping up security measures on its border with Belarus (the European Union's eastern border) after reports that a large group of migrants in Belarus have headed to a checkpoint on the Polish-Belarusian border, world news agencies reported, citing official sources.

A view of an information board regarding the state of emergency near the border with Belarus in Zubrzyca Wielka, northeastern Poland, 03 September 2021. EPA-EFE/Artur Reszko

One of them was an Iraqi man, found on Sunday by Polish border guards near the village of Dworczysko, together with two others, all suffering from hypothermia. The two still alive are recovering in hospital.

As the Polish president stated in his decision, a state of emergency is being introduced in 183 places located in the three-kilometer belt along the border with Belarus, which many assessed as an unprecedented move in the post-communist history of Poland.