Major Gen. Andrei Łukjanovich, commander of the Belarusian Air Force, announced on 16 August that the situation at the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia was unchangeable and the operational contacts continued. For Warsaw it is not a reset, but a test: Minsk inactive did not issue a fishy in the killing of the sergeants. Matthew Sitka.
Belarusian signal to the West
Gen. Major Andrei Łukjanovich, commander of the Air Force and the Anti-aircraft Defence Army of Belarus, said on 16 August on the Belarusian tv STV that at the western borders of his state the air and land component had decreased. Reported BELTA besides spoke of a unchangeable situation and a deficiency of threats.
The Belarusian general added that Minsk maintains operational cooperation with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, among another things, erstwhile common information about flights in the border runway. Virtual Poland recalled that Poland has not had an ambassador in Minsk for 5 years, and the border remains a place of hybrid pressure. This is the right starting point to measure these words.
Chat channels are not reset
The very existence of method channels is not evidence of political relaxation. A state of serious talk even with its opponent, if this serves to defend its own citizens. However, talking to the services does not mean trusting, normalising or forgetting what is happening at the border.
At the end of June, the Head of the Intelligence Agency, Colonel Paweł Szota, confirmed in an interview with “Rzeczpospolita” that Poland maintains costly channels of communication with Belarusian services. In the same interview, he pointed out that it was hard to talk about further steps to improve the relation without advancement in the extradition of the suspected Polish soldier Matthew Sitk. This conviction should be a boundary for Warsaw, not a footnote.
The Shadow of Matthew Sitka’s Cause
The Warsaw territory Attorney's Office reported on 9 June 2026 that the fishy in the execution of the Sgt. Matthew Sitka is simply a Moroccan citizen Mohamed Addamrou. By A D.A.'s communication, 2 December 2025, was sent to the Belarusian authorities to request temporary arrest and extradition of the suspect. Until Minsk responds to the act, his communicative of cooperation is empty.
This is not a substance of diplomatic prestige. It is about the simple performance of the Polish state. The soldier served on the border, which is where the Lukashenko government has been utilizing migration force for years as a political tool. If Minsk wants to talk about stability, he should start by releasing a man being prosecuted by Polish law enforcement authorities.
The border inactive requires a tough policy
At the same time, the Polish state maintains restrictions in the cross-border zone. The Podlaskie Provincial Office informed in June that the ban covers a 78-kilometre section at the Polish-Belarusian border. This shows that Warsaw's administrative decisions are not due to mood, but to a real hazard assessment.
DN already described how the border was re-tested by attempts to enter Poland from Belarus. We besides wrote that Lukashenka mixes Belarusians with Russia again, which reflects a deeper problem: Minsk is not an independent partner in the average European sense. He is simply a government increasingly linked to the Russian strategy.
Poland cannot be put to sleep
The Belarusian message of no threat has its address. It is designed to tame public opinion, soften vigilance and make the impression that a fewer method contacts are adequate to return to normal. The Polish right should look at it without illusions. safety is not about believing the regime's declarations. It's about his actions being proven.
Warsaw should keep channels of conversation, due to the fact that sometimes 1 telephone can reduce the hazard of an incident. But you can't pay for this contact with political disarmament. The conditions are clear: extradition of the fishy in Matthew Sitka, a real limit to the force on the border, the end of the hand-in-hand game with Moscow.
The stakes for Poles are very specific. It's the safety of soldiers and officers, the tightness of the border and the state's ability to enforce justice. Minsk can talk about cooperation. Poland has the right to answer: first evidence, then trust.
Sources: WP News, BELTA, Rzeczpospolita, territory Attorney's Office in Warsaw, Podlaskie Voivodeship Office.
Source: WP News
