“We are dealing with a human smuggling operation. People are first invited to Belarus, because the whole action was coordinated by the Kremlin. The entire operation was dubbed ‘Operation Gate.’ The goal was to destabilize the situation in Poland—even before the war in Ukraine began,” said Mariusz Błaszczak, summarizing the shocking findings of TV Republika’s investigative report on the Polish-Belarusian border, during an interview with journalist Michał Rachoń.
Thursday marked another day of TV Republika unveiling new details from its investigation into the smuggling scandal. Among those named in the evidence gathered by law enforcement and prosecutors are Bartosz Kramek, Klementyna Suchanow, Marcin Mycielski, and Paweł Kasprzak.
According to preserved communications between smugglers, all of them assisted in organizing the transport and sheltering of illegal migrants from the Polish-Belarusian border in so-called “safe houses.” The conclusion is straightforward: individuals currently working behind the scenes of Donald Tusk’s government were involved in a hybrid attack on Poland by Russia, in cooperation with Belarus, as part of “Operation Gate.”
Błaszczak: This Is Human Smuggling
Former Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak responded to the findings in his interview with Michał Rachoń:
“What strikes me most is that these are organizations operating with detailed instructions. Everything is planned several steps ahead. These aren’t volunteer groups driven by goodwill—they are part of a calculated, strategic operation. It clearly points to human smuggling. These people are first invited to Belarus, and the entire campaign was coordinated by the Kremlin. It was called ‘Operation Gate’ because the aim was to destabilize Poland—long before the war in Ukraine broke out,” he said.
He added, “Everyone knows the Law and Justice (PiS) government pursued an ambitious policy to strengthen national security. But the West had no interest in allowing PiS to govern.” In his view, “All of this has one thing in common—a fight against the PiS government.”
“A fight against a government that chose sovereignty, that pursued an ambitious agenda to bolster our security, and that moved beyond the Vistula Line to defend every inch of our territory. That’s what unites them all—from those in the Kremlin to those in Western Europe who want Poland to serve merely as a cheap labor source. They don’t want an ambitious Poland; they want a subcontractor to decisions made in Berlin,” he emphasized.
“A Staged Performance…”
Błaszczak also commented on Donald Tusk’s recent speech in Parliament, in which the Prime Minister claimed, “his government is protecting the Polish border,” and even declared that “the good times are over for human traffickers.” The former defense minister dismissed the speech bluntly: “That speech by Donald Tusk two days ago was nothing but a staged campaign stunt.”
“He came to Parliament, gave a speech attacking the opposition and PiS. But when it came to concrete action, the December 13 coalition voted down PiS’s motion regarding the migration pact. It was about preparations by the Tusk government to implement the pact. In fact, they even postponed the EU Affairs Committee meeting—requested by PiS—to discuss the resolution submitted in February that would have obliged the Tusk government to unilaterally withdraw from the migration pact. They canceled the committee meeting. First, they stalled the motion for months. When they finally scheduled the session—for yesterday—they canceled it. They don’t want to talk about it because they’re afraid. Because they intend to go along with the migration pact,” he added.
This refers to the following vote:
Sejm właśnie odrzucił wniosek o zobowiązanie premiera do udzielenia informacji na temat udziału Polski w pakcie migracyjnym i jego mechanizmie rozdzielania imigrantów do poszczególnych krajów EU w tym Polski.
— Służby w akcji (@Sluzby_w_akcji) May 21, 2025
Premier nie udzieli stosowanej informacji społeczeństwu podczas obrad… pic.twitter.com/gtZXmowkIT