Britain sends troops to the Polish border

As the migrant situation on the Polish-Belarusian border worsens and hundreds of people are stuck in subzero temperatures, Britain dispatched troops to Poland to secure the NATO ally’s border with Belarus.

On Friday, the Defense Ministry announced the deployment of a “small armed forces team” to Poland “to address the ongoing crisis on the Belarusian border.” Noting that the UK has a long history of friendship with Poland and is a NATO ally, the Ministry of Defense said: “Following an agreement with the Polish government, a small team of UK armed forces personnel has been dispatched to investigate how we can provide engineering support to solve the current issue on the Belarusian border.”

The force is thought to be made up of barely ten soldiers.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak tweeted that British troops would assist in “strengthening the fence” along the border.

The declaration by the United Kingdom comes on another day of rising tensions on the issue, as well as escalating humanitarian and diplomatic concerns.

Belarus’ neighbours have accused it of weaponizing the migrant issue, and Poland has warned that events on the border could grow into a military battle, accusing Russia of planning the events at the border. Germany, on the other hand, urged Russia to intervene to avert the situation. The Kremlin refuted the claim.

Belarusian and Russian paratroopers reportedly staged a joint military exercise on Friday, two days after Russian planes had patrolled Belarusian airspace.

Starting next week, the EU is considering putting further sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his administration. NATO stated on Friday that they will stay on high alert.

The White House expressed their concern about the escalating tensions as well. On Friday, US Vice President Kamala Harris stated that the US is “extremely concerned” about developments at the border.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has announced the deployment of around 8,500 soldiers and police to the country’s southern border with Belarus.

The situation on the Polish-Belarusian border comes amidst continuing fears that the ongoing armed conflict between Kiev and Moscow may deepen.

Also on Friday, Turkey’s role in the Belarusian crisis was debated in diplomatic and humanitarian circles, despite Turkey’s announcement that it would prohibit Syrians, Iraqis, and Yemenis from flying to Minsk airport on Turkish or Belarusian airlines as a result of talks between Warsaw and Ankara, both NATO partners. European politicians and experts have accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of conspiring with Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin to destabilize the EU.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused Turkey earlier this week of allowing migrants to enter the country.

It is uncertain whether preventing people from flying to Minsk will end the conflict. Observers claimed that with the ban’s implementation, flights from Istanbul to Moscow were swiftly running out, and that determined immigrants would be able to dodge the restriction by traveling through Russia.

Poland and Turkey are both led by right-wing populists who are in conflict with the EU on issues such as transparency, human rights, and the rule of law. Ankara reached an agreement with Warsaw earlier this year to supply sophisticated warplanes.

The situation has swiftly escalated, attracting regional and larger forces, with Belarusian police transporting approximately 2,000 people to the Polish border earlier this week.

On Friday, a teenage migrant was discovered dead at the border. The death of a 14-year-old teenager was confirmed by Polish authorities.

At least eight people have died at the border, but NGOs claim that the figure could be considerably higher.

Temperatures dropped to around -3 degrees Celsius at night.

The vast majority of migrants assembled at the border are Kurds, who were drawn to Belarus as part of Lukashenko’s strategy to place pressure on EU sanctions.

The bloc implemented the measures after the Belarusian president suppressed opposition protests in August 2020, following a controversial election widely thought to be lost.

It is estimated that 2,000 migrants have applied for asylum in the European Union, with more expected to arrive at the Polish border in the coming days. The majority of the immigrants are children under the age of ten.