Poland’s defense minister, Wladysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, on Thursday 6th of June 2024, criticized the arrest of three soldiers accused of shooting at migrants crossing the Poland-Belarus border. He described the detention of soldiers who fired alarm shots at attacking migrants as unacceptable and called for an explanation of the Military Police’s actions against the detainees. “Soldiers guarding state security must be sure that legal procedures protect them. I will always stand on the side of the soldiers’ honor,” he stated.
On March 31, a group of about 50 migrants managed to cut through the border fence and climb onto the Polish side of the Poland-Belarus border. Polish soldiers reportedly fired several warning shots into the air and then into the ground in front of the refugees, totaling 43 shots, with ricochets hitting the fence before the migrants withdrew. Polish legislation does not provide any legal basis for using direct coercive measures against aggressive migrants.
The governing coalition recently announced the construction of the “Eastern Shield” and a plan to increase spending on the defense of the eastern border. The “Eastern Shield” will consist of several hundred kilometers of fences, barriers, and other obstacles along the border with Belarus, costing 10 billion zlotys (2.4 billion euros).
In late May, a Polish border guard was stabbed at the border as Belarus pushed more people from the Middle East and Africa over its border into Polish territory, an act which Warsaw and Brussels have termed a ‘hybrid war.’ Former Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak also weighed in, calling the situation an absolute scandal and emphasizing that the Polish state has an obligation to support border defenders. “Soldiers cannot be on the one hand exposed to physical attacks from migrants, and on the other hand to legal consequences,” he stated.