In the previous two days, Polish border guards prevented almost 500 attempts to illegally cross the border of Poland from the territory of Belarus.
According to an update from the Polish Border Guard Service, on March 20 and 21, there were 499 recorded attempts to enter Poland from Belarus without authorization.
This figure is a significant increase from the 242 attempts documented on March 18 and 19.
It's well-documented that since the summer of 2021, the Lukashenka regime has been instrumental in creating a hybrid migration crisis at the borders of Belarus with European countries. This has involved aiding individuals from Africa and the Middle East in their efforts to reach the EU, a move seen by the Baltic states and Poland as retaliation for their strong criticism of Lukashenka's crackdown on opposition and civil society in Belarus.
Although the frequency of such incidents has dropped since the winter of 2021, the issue persists.
To combat illegal migration, Poland has constructed a 5-meter barrier along its border with Belarus.
Latvia, too, has reported a rise in attempts at illegal migration. The Latvian government recently approved a €303 million initiative to fortify its borders with both the Russian Federation and Belarus.
At the close of 2023, Russia also attempted to leverage migrant flows as a form of pressure at the Finnish border. Finland responded by closing all checkpoints on its eastern frontier and is currently working on legislative amendments to more effectively address such challenges.
