Poland to strengthen EU’s eastern flank after migrant stabs guard at Belarus border

5 months ago 13

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced plans to reinforce the EU’s eastern flank after an asylum seeker attacked a Polish border guard with a knife while trying to cross the border with Belarus.

The attack took place near the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne, where Poland has recently seen an increase in illegal border crossings.

The migrants attacked the Polish border guards using mainly stones and branches, but one stabbed an officer with some sort of spear made from a knife and a long stick. The guard was injured and taken to hospital.

Tusk reacted to the incident, writing on X that “soldiers and other officers defend our border risking their lives,” adding that the injured man is “well cared for, as is his family”.

In the same post, he announced that additional troops would be deployed at the border, starting their service on Wednesday morning.

There are also more radical statements on social media, including calls for border guards to shoot asylum seekers trying to cross the border.

“Shoot anyone who attacks the border guard and tries to enter Poland illegally. I am sure that no one else will be so brave anymore,” wrote the controversial former MEP Janusz Korwin-Mikke on X.

Since mid-2001, Poland has seen increased pressure on its border with Belarus. Both Warsaw and Brussels believe the migration is being orchestrated by the Minsk regime.

Earlier this month, Tusk announced that Poland’s border with Belarus would be strengthened, including by reinforcing border infrastructure.

“There is no limit of resources when it comes to Poland’s security,” he said.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)