Poland Deploys Additional Forces On The Border With Belarus

Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz revealed the details.

The Polish Ministry of Defence decided to intensify actions aimed at countering acts of aggression against the personnel of the Polish Armed Forces. This was announced on June 1 after a briefing at the headquarters of the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade in Tomaszów Mazowiecki by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Poland Władysław Kosinyak-Kamysz.

"I would like to thank the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the commanders of the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade and the 6th Airborne Brigade for this quick reaction, for the fact that the best people are on the border defending Poland. This is a gratitude to all — the operational troops, the Territorial Defence Forces, the police and the Border Guard, the State Fire Service, the State Security Service. Thank you for all the actions that are being implemented to protect the Polish border and ensure the security of Poland," Kosinyak-Kamysh said after a briefing with the command, the Press Service of the Ministry of Defence reports.

According to the Polish Defence Minister, hybrid attacks on Poland, which have been ongoing for several years, have recently intensified. This is an attempt to destabilize the security situation in Poland and on NATO's eastern flank. He noted that most of the migrants storming the border have Russian visas.

"On the Polish border, bandit attacks and aggressive attacks on Polish soldiers, border guards and police officers are becoming more frequent. That's totally unacceptable. Just crossing the border is a violation of law and order, and a physical attack is unacceptable and will be met with a retaliatory measure on our part," the minister assured.

As Kosinyak-Kamysh noted, actions continue to be taken to improve the situation on the border and improve the safety of the soldiers.

“Before the tragic event that occurred last week — the wounding of our soldier as a result of a gang attack, we decided to strengthen the border and introduce additional forces, as well as provide soldiers with additional means of protection. But these activities need to be intensified, so the servicemen of the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade arrived on Wednesday. Thank you very much for the fast execution of the order. Thank you for gathering the best soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and have extensive experience in the stabilization mission in Kosovo within 24 hours. Both the 25th Brigade and the 6th Brigade quickly mobilized their people, who are already on the border today. It also has the best weapons and armored vehicles. (…) Additional police units and police equipment are being prepared," the Polish Defence Minister said.

The head of the Ministry of Defence, thanking the soldiers and officers for their service, noted that in this hybrid war and border defence, the support and participation of society is also important.

The minister recalled that one of the elements of the hybrid war is the use of disinformation by the Belarusian and Russian sides. He noted that the attack on the Polish Press Agency was an attempt to destabilize Polish society.

“Such incidents, unfortunately, are designed to cause anxiety, create a sense of chaos, a sense of panic. We need to be resilient to this kind of event. I ask everyone to check the information that appears in the public space. Please do not believe, especially online, the many fake accounts created only to sow chaos and confusion. Last year, we reviewed 80,000 cyberspace incidents. This year, there may be twice as many of them," the Defence Minister said.

He called on citizens to take an active part in countering hybrid warfare.

"Without the participation of citizens, without the support of citizens, without social sustainability, we will not be able to effectively counteract this hybrid war. (…) We need community and unity in this hybrid war against Poland. We need the support of soldiers and officers. We need social sustainability," the Defence Minister said.