Tusk, along with Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, visited a border guard station in Dubicze Cerkiewne, eastern Poland owing to rising tensions on the frontier.
The number of migrants, primarily from Africa and Asia, trying to cross the border is increasing, and these attempts have frequently led to skirmishes with Polish border guards.
Tusk said: “We will deploy more police forces, particularly where there are group attempts to breach the border. This action is necessary to counter the organized efforts to destabilize our country.”
The prime minister also announced the reinstatement of a 200-meter-wide buffer zone along the border, saying the move had been “recommended”.
The original buffer zone, which people were unable to enter without official permission, was imposed in 2021 by the then Law and Justice government in an attempt to curb the numbers of migrants crossing into Poland. It drew criticism at the time owing to claims it prevented aid workers from reaching migrants, especially women and children, trapped on the border.
Tusk added that the situation on the border is not about asylum seekers but about organized attacks aimed at destabilizing the state.
The prime minister said that border guards and other security forces had the government’s full support. He said: “You have the right and duty to use all available methods to protect not just the border but your lives as well.”
Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz added that additional troops would be deployed to the area to support the border guards.
“We will not hesitate to provide all necessary assistance, including the toughest measures, to ensure the safety and security of our borders,” Tusk said.
Hybrid warfare
Recent data from the Polish Border Guard shows a significant rise in illegal border crossing attempts. In the first three months of 2024, an average of 50 immigrants tried to enter Poland illegally every day. However, from the beginning of April to May 21, this number has risen to an average of 207 attempts per day.
Between April 4 and May 28, there were 12,010 attempts to cross into Poland from Belarus, more than doubling the total number of attempts in the entire first quarter of 2024.
According to Tusk, the increased aggression on the border is a calculated strategy by Belarus and Russia as part of advanced hybrid warfare, although this is denied by both countries.
Border Guard agents frequently endure violent attacks, being pelted with branches and stones, struck with broken bottles, assaulted with sticks equipped with attached knives, and even targeted by slingshots.
