The United Nations Security Council’s US and European delegations urged action against Belarus’ actions on its border with Poland, saying that the immigration crisis was “orchestrated” and that Minsk was endangering immigrants “for political purposes”.
Poland claims that the government of the strongman Alexander Lukashenko has lured about 2,000 immigrants (mainly Kurds from the Middle East) to Belarus in order to get them to cross the border into Belarus. Poland Thus the EU newspaper copied the ruling.
These people are now living in tent camps on the border, where the temperature is close to zero. Poland established a state of emergency enforced by hundreds of soldiers in the border area and refused to let them in.
After the emergency meeting on the crisis, the Western delegation of the New York Security Council issued a joint statement condemning “Belarus for political purposes, meticulously planning to put their lives and well-being at risk.”
They stated that Belarus’s purpose in doing so was to “destabilize the external borders of neighboring countries and the EU, and divert attention from its growing human rights violations.”
“This strategy is unacceptable and requires a strong response and cooperation from the international community to hold Belarus accountable,” the Western statement said, but did not mention any specific measures to punish Belarus.
“This shows how the Lukashenko regime has become a threat to regional stability. We call on the Belarusian authorities to stop these inhumane acts and not to put people’s lives in danger,” it added.
The statement did not mention Belarusian allies RussiaIts deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polianski rejected Western accusations that it was cooperating with Minsk to send migrants from the eastern border of the European Union to Poland. “Absolutely not,” he said.
At the same time, thousands of people marched on the streets of Warsaw to commemorate Poland’s Independence Day, including a far-right group calling on the government to stop immigrants from illegally entering the country. The city government banned demonstrations, but these orders were overturned by conservative laws and the Justice Party-led national government.
Lukashenko received the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the standoff. The Kremlin leader sent two nuclear-capable strategic bombers to Belarus for the second day in a row on Thursday for training missions, again to his allies. Expressed strong support.
Lukashenko threatened to reduce gas delivery to Europe through a major pipeline in retaliation for any new sanctions that the EU might impose in response to the border crisis.
Poland and other EU member states such as Lithuania and Estonia claim Lukashenko Has made thousands of people In retaliation for the sanctions imposed on him by his severe suppression of dissidents in 2020, he departed from the Middle East and passed through Minsk to the EU border. Belavia, the national airline of Belarus, Strongly deny It is involved in any activities that traffic vulnerable groups from Middle Eastern capitals such as Damascus to the borders of the European Union.
The EU called Lukashenko’s convenience for illegal border crossings as a “hybrid attack.” Belarus denies these allegations, but said it will no longer prevent refugees and migrants from trying to enter the European Union.
Ukraine said Thursday that it will deploy thousands of guards and security personnel to its border with Belarus. Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastirski stated that thousands of security personnel will conduct exercises on the country’s common border with Belarus, “in response to a potential immigration crisis.”
The Belarusian Ministry of Defense stated that two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers were practicing bombing at the Ruzani shooting range, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of the Belarusian-Polish border. The ministry stated that as part of joint training, Belarusian fighters simulated interceptions.
On Wednesday, two Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers conducted similar patrols, and the Belarusian air defense forces practiced intercepting them.
The Belarusian Ministry of Defense stated that such Russian bomber flights will be carried out on a regular basis.
The Russian military stated that the bomber flew in the air for four and a half hours during the mission in order to support the alliance between the two countries. It said that the bomber patrol was “not against any third country.”
When asked about Russian military planes flying over Belarus, Polianski said that it was a response to what he called a large-scale build-up of Polish troops on the border.
“In the unification between Russia and Belarus, we also have our obligations. Therefore, if there is a build-up of military resources on the border with Belarus, we must respond. This is just a reconnaissance flight, nothing more,” he said .
When asked whether the deployment of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border meant that Russia was planning to invade its neighbors, Poliansky said: “It was never planned, never done, and never done, of course, unless we are affected by Ukraine. Or the provocation of others.”
Aeroflot, the Russian national airline, responded to reports that the European Union is considering sanctions against the airline, which is suspected of being involved in bringing refugees and migrants to Belarus. Aeroflot strongly rejected the claim.
