The government’s narrative of success regarding the situation at Poland’s border with Belarus is starkly at odds with reality. According to data from the Polish Border Guard, the hybrid operation against Poland is intensifying. “Unfortunately, given the government’s inadequate actions, it’s difficult to have confidence that we are prepared to neutralize these threats,” Stanisław Żaryn, advisor to the President of Poland, told the portal Niezależna.pl.
The Polish Border Guard reported today that from March 7-9, over 210 attempts to illegally enter Poland from Belarus were recorded. This figure represents a quarter of all border-crossing attempts since the beginning of the year and is over four times higher than the previous weekend (February 28 – March 2), during which there were just over 50 incidents.
In a statement, the Border Guard also highlighted multiple attacks by migrants on Polish security services. Additionally, two human smugglers were detained.
Migrants hurled tree branches and stones at Polish patrols, damaging three Border Guard vehicles. These attacks on Polish officers were intentional and planned, with migrants carrying backpacks filled with stones specifically to assault border patrol units, according to the Border Guard’s report.
“Last weekend, officers from the Customs and Tax Service in Bobrowniki, during a roadside check in Grabówka near Białystok, stopped a vehicle in which two Ukrainian nationals were transporting four Afghan nationals who had illegally crossed the Polish-Belarusian border. The detainees were handed over to the Border Guard unit in Bobrowniki,” the report stated.
Warmer months ahead bring warnings of increased risk. Russian and Belarusian propaganda insists Polish military forces are no longer needed at the border, indicating potentially more serious upcoming assaults. Stanisław Żaryn, advisor to the Polish President and head of the National Security Institute Foundation, expressed his concerns to Niezależna.pl.
“The government’s narrative of success regarding the border situation doesn’t match reality. Border Guard data clearly show the hybrid operation against Poland is intensifying. Over 210 attacks occurred this past weekend alone. Let us recall that in 2024, the border faced over 30,000 attempted breaches—more than 4,000 more than in 2023,” Żaryn emphasized.
“The government has failed to develop any effective strategy for protecting the border, despite Donald Tusk previously criticizing the PiS government, claiming the issue was simple and easily solvable. Today, it’s clear we were correct from the beginning in stating we face an operation orchestrated by Russian and Belarusian special services,” he added.
“This operation will continue as long as it benefits Russia,” Żaryn concluded. “We should expect these attacks to intensify further. Unfortunately, given the government’s inadequate approach, it remains uncertain whether we’ll be ready to counteract these threats effectively.”