Poland has refused entry to dozens of Russians trying to cross its land borders, saying they “may be dangerous to our country”. A particularly large number sought to enter on Wednesday and Thursday, after Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation and many Russians consequently sought to flee the country.
On Monday, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia introduced new restrictions preventing the entry of most Russians. Previously, those four countries – all of which share land borders with Russia – had been the entry point for around two thirds of the million Russians who have entered the EU by land since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to the Polish Press Agency, Polish border guard spokeswoman Anna Michalska said that over the following days 54 Russians had been refused entry: two on Monday, nine on Tuesday, 17 on Wednesday and 26 on Thursday.
However, between Monday and Friday 1,770 Russians were admitted to Poland while 2,342 left, reports PAP. Poland and the Baltic states’ new entry restrictions make exceptions for certain categories of Russians, including “dissidents”, “humanitarian cases”, family members and holders of residence permits in EU countries.
Since Putin announced the partial mobilisation, some have suggested that Poland and the Baltic states should allow entry to Russians seeking to avoid military service.
However, on Friday Stanisław Żaryn, the spokesman for Poland’s security services, rejected the idea. “We absolutely should not admit such people en masse,” he said, quoted by RMF24. “These are people who may be dangerous to our country.”
“We do not have reliable information showing that these people want to flee because they are rebelling against the Russian government,” added Żaryn. “These people probably want to flee because they are afraid of the individual situation related to being drafted into the army.”
A similar position has been taken by the Baltic states. On Thursday, their foreign ministers announced that Russians fleeing the partial mobilisation would not be given asylum on that basis.
First Finland now Baltic nations say they will refuse refuge to Russians fleeing mobilisation | Reuters https://t.co/3wDYiKVuEL
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Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
