Poland, which has in recent years been dealing with a surge in crossings from Belarus by migrants and asylum seekers, has now been confronted by a different kind of arrival: a dog that managed to cross the highly fortified frontier.
Unlike many of the migrants, the German shepherd was not pushed back into Belarus and has instead been taken into the care of border guards. Despite the dog having a Cyrillic name on its collar, the Belarusian authorities have not taken it back.
On Tuesday, the border guard branch in Poland’s Podlasie province, which sits alongside Belarus, announced that the four-legged escapee had been found on the Polish side of the border in late April. They also shared a video and photos of the animal.
“From the very beginning, he reacted in a very friendly way towards the uniformed officers,” they wrote. “The dog had a leash attached to it and its name was written in Cyrillic on the collar.” The border guard has not, however, revealed what that name is.
“We sent an inquiry to the Belarusian side with information about the dog,” revealed the border guard. “In response, we read that they did not have any record of the dog’s disappearance.”
In the meantime, border guard officers had taken the dog into their care and arranged several visits to the vet, including for vaccinations. Now, one of them has decided to adopt the animal permanently.
Since 2021, tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers have tried to cross into Poland from Belarus with the encouragement and assistance of the Belarusian authorities. In response, Poland has constructed a physical and electronic barrier along the border.
Today, Poland also announced that a Russian soldier had been detained after crossing the border in Podlasie.
A Russian soldier has been detained in Poland after crossing the border from Belarus.
He was reportedly in possession of documents indicating he had been serving in military operations during the war in Ukraine https://t.co/hwQceA3Rwm
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 8, 2024
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Main image credit: Straż Graniczna
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.
