Poland plans to complete its fortified border wall and close the border with Belarus by next summer, aiming to curb what it sees as Russia's and Belarus's "hybrid war" through illegal migration, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk told the Financial Times on Dec. 29.
The initiative follows strained relations between Poland and Belarus, a close ally of Russia, after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Warsaw has accused Belarus of orchestrating migrant flows into Poland to pressure the EU over sanctions, a claim Minsk denies.
Additional reinforcements along the 400-kilometer (250 miles) eastern border include installing night vision cameras, thermal imagers, and a new patrol road, as well as strengthening the five-meter steel fence built in 2022.
Poland is investing over 2.5 billion zlotys ($611 million) in the project, with half the funding allocated by the current government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
"This artificially created migration route will be closed during next summer, I hope and believe it," Duszczyk said. He added that once complete, the border’s security would be "as close to 100% as possible."
Tensions escalated in May after a Polish border guard was critically injured by a migrant using a makeshift spear to breach the existing fence. In response, Tusk announced plans to create a 200-meter-wide buffer zone along the border with Belarus.
Despite the border fortification, Duszczyk warned of potential attempts by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to escalate tensions or sabotage Poland’s infrastructure.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
