The standoff at the Polish-Belarusian border continues to unfold

Poland detained hundreds of migrants and refugees as they attempted to enter the country overnight on Tuesday with 3,000 extra soldiers deployed to strengthen the border. Russia, a close ally of Belarus, dispatched two nuclear-capable bombers to patrol Belarusian airspace in a show of support while the standoff between the two continues. 

“We’re hungry, sick and cold but they told us to go back to Syria.” After travelling long journeys in hopes of a better future, migrant families find themselves trapped in the middle of a political standoff between Belarus and the EU.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask him to get Belarus to stop the “inhumane” instrumentalisation of migrants, her spokesman said Wednesday.

What people are saying?

Franak Viačorka Lukashenka uses migrants to distract attention from the HR crisis in Belarus, that started from the rigged elections of 2020. The situation with migrants cannot be separated from the topic of political prisoners & new elections.

Hanna Liubakova Belarusian security forces are pushing migrants away from the border. This is a very dangerous situation for every side. I am really worried that it would escalate even more. Many of those camping on the border are indeed desperate.