The military is ready to support border guards and police during checks which will be introduced on Monday at the border with Germany and Lithuania. This was reported on the X portal by Deputy Prime Minister and national defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. However, so far, decisions have not been made on the scale of military engagement.
Yesterday, the government decided to temporarily reconstruct border controls with Germany and Lithuania. Reason? Problems with illegal migration. In the case of Germany, reports of the fact that the services there are pushing migrants to Poland without the right to reside have given impetus. As a result, on the Polish side, members and sympathizers of right-wing organizations began to organize self-proclaimed citizens' patrols, which were to block and control cars entering Poland without any authority. “This country is liable for the safety of the border, not for the groups convened by Bąkiewicz (Robert Bąkiewicz, founder of the National defender – ed.) and activists of the far right”, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He besides admitted that he had already contacted the German authorities on the return of migrants to Poland, including Chancellor Friedrich Merzem. “Every case will be investigated, and the consequence will be not letting anyone in, besides from the German side, with dubious papers or the reason why it would be forwarded to the Polish side,” said Tusk.
As far as Lithuania is concerned, things are a small different. This country, like Poland, borders Belarus, whose authorities have been moving a hybrid operation in NATO and the European Union for a long time. It involves pushing possible migrants from Asia and Africa to the west of Europe. To prevent this, Polish authorities built on the border with Belarus a peculiar firewalland within the framework ‘Sub-Lase’ operations They threw a contingent of respective 1000 soldiers into that area. Meanwhile, any illegal migrants proceed to enter Poland via Lithuania. Since the beginning of this year, Polish services have tracked, stopped and sent 241 people away.
Controls at both borders will be restored on Monday 7 July. There's no telling how long they'll last. The burden of action will remainder with border guards and police. However, there is much evidence that the army will besides engage in them. “Poland’s safety is simply a precedence of our government.... The military is in full readiness to support the services" wrote yesterday on the X portal Deputy Prime Minister and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. It is not yet known what will be necessary. However, they will surely not match those taken at borders with Belarus and Russia. “Here we can mention to the 2023 casus, erstwhile soldiers supported the service after restoring control at the border with Slovakia,” admits Janusz Seymej, spokesperson for the MON. The erstwhile authorities decided to take this step to halt illegal migration by the alleged Balkan trail. The military then received the same powers as SG officers. For example, they could control people and vehicles entering Poland. They stayed in action involved primarily in territorial affairs from Silesia and Małopolska, but besides soldiers of 21th Podhale firearm Brigade. They took part in patrols and the scale of engagement was adapted to their needs.
Meanwhile, military police have been conducting preventive action on the western border for 2 weeks now. Soldiers and border guards patrol border areas. They besides jointly control cars and verify the legality of abroad residence in Poland.
