Poland expels 15 Russians and Belarusians who tried to take part in Karate World Championships

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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 detained and expelled 15 Russians and Belarusians who tried to take part in youth world karate championships that were taking place in the Polish city of Bielsko-Biała.

“Eleven Belarusian citizens and four Russians entered the country on tourist visas, which was inconsistent with the declared purpose of their stay in Poland,” said border guard spokesman Szymon Mościcki.

After being detained, they received orders to leave the country within eight days, which is “the shortest possible deadline”, he added, quoted by broadcaster TVP.

The announcement came one day after the karate world championships in the cadet, junior and U-21 categories had finished in Bielsko-Biała.

In early October, Russia’s TASS news agency had reported that some of the country’s junior karatekas, as competitors are known, had planned to compete in the tournament. The World Karate Federation (WKF) allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral banner.

However, Poland has a strict policy of not allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in tournaments on its territory. This year, it banned them from taking part in a World Cup ski jumping event. It was also removed as host of two European junior weightlifting championships for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes.

On 15 October, the day after the championships in Bielsko-Biała had started, TASS reported that none of the Russian athletes had been allowed to register by the Polish organisers.

Paweł Połtorzecki, president of the Polish Karate Union (PUK), confirmed that, despite PUK warning them not to come, Russian and Belarusian athletes had sought to take part, prompting the organisers to ask the border guard to conduct an inspection.

“The first sign was the appearance of a Russian at the refereeing course,” he revealed, quoted by TVP. “That’s when the first detention occurred.”

Gazeta Wyborcza, a leading Polish daily, reports that the Russian karatekas had obtained tourist visas from other countries in the European Schengen area, of which Poland is part. Poland itself does not issue tourist visas to Russians.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has been one of Kyiv’s closest allies, providing military and humanitarian support while also pressing for tougher international sanctions against Moscow.

Meanwhile, Poland has become the primary target in Europe for sabotage operations carried out by operatives working on behalf of Russia, including arson attacks and an attempt to derail a train. Russia has also repeatedly violated Polish airspace with drones, missiles and, most recently, a helicopter.

In response to Russia’s aggressive actions, Poland has successively shut down all Russian consulates on its territory. Moscow responded by likewise closing all Polish consulates that it previously hosted. In January, Russia warned its citizens against travelling to Poland due to “Russophobia”.

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.

Main image credit: Paweł Sowa/Wydział Prasowy UMBB

Daniel Tilles

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.