Poland shows “uniformed Belarusian officer” among migrant group attacking Polish border guards

Apr 14, 2025 | Defence

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland has published footage from its border with Belarus that it says shows a uniformed Belarusian officer among a group of migrants who attacked Polish border guards.

The video, posted on social media by interior ministry spokesman Jacek Dobrzyński, shows a large group of people – several dozen strong, according to Dobrzyński – trying to cut through the border fence with a power saw.

As a border guard vehicle approaches on the Polish side of the fence, most of the group scatter, but some begin throwing stones. They included a man wearing military-style camouflage.

Dobrzyński said that this was a “uniformed officer of the Belarusian security services”, who was among those who “attacked our uniformed officers with stones”. He said that the incident took place near Mielnik, a village on the Polish side of the border, but did not reveal when the footage was from.

Since 2021, tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers – mostly from the Middle East, Asia and Africa – have tried to cross irregularly into Poland from Belarus with the encouragement and assistance of the Belarusian authorities.

That prompted the former Polish government to erect a physical and electronic barrier along the border in 2022 and 2023. The current government, which came to power at the end of 2023, has moved to further strengthen those defences.

In response to the latest incident, Polish interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak tweeted that “there is no doubt about the close cooperation of the Belarusian security services with gangs organising the smuggling of people from Africa and Asia”.

He added that “recently, Belarusian officers have even joined in direct provocations and aggressive actions near the border”.

The defence minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, added that the incident “should open the eyes of all those who trivialise this threat and baselessly attack the defenders of Polish borders”.

That may have been a reference to comments last week by renowned Polish film director Agnieszka Holland, who accused Polish officers of violently abusing migrants at the border and criticised the government’s tough policies.

“Thanks to the commitment and work of uniformed services and the sealing of the border, Poland is safe,” wrote Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Earlier this month, the defence minister warned that Belarus and Russia have recently been “intensifying their operation” to help migrants cross the border. That has included “increased brutality, [such as] the throwing of stones and branches”, he added.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently announced that Poland would soon launch an information campaign in the most common countries of origin of migrants trying to enter from Belarus.

“Our message will be simple,” said Tusk. “The Polish border is sealed. Don’t believe the smugglers. Don’t believe Lukashenko, don’t believe Putin [the presidents of Belarus and Russia]. They lie to you when they say that this is the way into Europe.”

Last month, his government introduced new measures suspending the right to claim asylum by those who cross from Belarus. Last year, it established an exclusion zone along the border in an effort to bolster security and hinder the work of people smugglers.


Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

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