Russia could be looking to mount a “hybrid attack” in the form of staging another migrant crisis against Europe, Poland’s deputy prime minister has claimed.
Mariusz Błaszczak, who serves as Poland’s deputy prime minister, as well as its Minister of Defence, has said that Russia could be looking to kick-start another migrant crisis on Europe’s border.
The senior politician compared such a possible “hybrid attack” to the migrant crisis orchestrated by Russian ally Belarus last year, with the incident putting significant strain on Poland’s border force when busloads of migrants were dropped off at the EU’s eastern border.
According to a report by state-owned broadcaster Polskie Radio, Błaszczak said that Poland has started the construction of a temporary border fence on its border with Kaliningrad, a Russian ‘exclave’ in Europe bordered by Poland and Lithuania. The isolated province was formerly known as East Prussia and Königsberg but border changes during the Second World War and Soviet-era politics means after the Cold War it remained a Russian territorial anomaly — about the size of Montenegro or Northern Ireland — inside Europe.
“We want the border to be tight,” the minister said, voicing concern that Russia could fly migrants from Africa and the Middle East into the isolated region in order to push them into the European Union in an effort to distract and destabilise the bloc.
Along with three separate rows of razor wire, the politician said that Poland would also set up electronic devices in order to enable digital surveillance of the Kaliningrad border.
Belarus Training Afghans and Iraqis with Military Experience to Attack Polish Border, Claims Fmr Ambassador https://t.co/C59maPY6rm
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 11, 2021
The deputy PM went on to express faith that the temporary construction would be effective, with the politician saying that a similar construction on the Polish-Belarusian border “prevented a hybrid attack from Belarusian territory, or significantly slowed down this attack”.
During the border crisis, which largely took place last winter, a large number of migrants were allegedly pushed over the Belarusian border into Poland in what has been described as an attempt to destabilise Europe.
Such a move resulted in a number of clashes between migrants and Polish border guards, with Polish officers sustaining injuries after having various missiles and even stun grenades thrown at them.
Despite the violence, Belarus’ dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, denied any wrongdoing on behalf of his government, telling a reporter that he would “not even look into” accusations that his country was deliberately undermining the EU’s border.
Polish government officials have since accused various left-wing politicians and organisations of actually helping Belarus with its hybrid attack, with minister Błaszczak expressing concern that such groups might again try and support a Russian assault in the name of helping migrants.
“What happened last year was proof that the opposition and celebrities, using the favour of their media, tried to force border guards and soldiers to open the border, so that migrants could cross the border illegally,” he reportedly said, while expressing hope that “the opposition will not organize trips to the border with pizza”.
Russia Launches Fresh Bombardment of Ukrainian Infrastructure in Kyiv and Other Citieshttps://t.co/Vq9ouZXako
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 18, 2022
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