The Polish government announced today the construction of a wire fence about 210 kilometers along the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad to prevent illegal crossings.
Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced the decision amid concerns in Warsaw that Russia plans to orchestrate an influx of migrants.
“The airport in Kaliningrad is now accepting flights from the Middle East and North Africa. I decided to take action to increase the security of the Polish border,” said Blaszczak.
He said the wire fence will be 2.4 meters high and will also have an electronic monitoring system and cameras.
Poland already built a steel wall last year along its border with Russian ally Belarus after an influx of migrants there.
Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross into Poland from Belarus since 2021.
Poland’s border guard and NGOs on the ground continue to report dozens of attempted illegal crossings there on a daily basis.
The West believes the influx was orchestrated by Minsk to destabilize the region, a charge denied by the Belarusian regime.
Poland sent thousands of troops and police officers to reinforce border patrols at the height of the crisis and passed a law allowing migrants to be forcibly returned to Belarus.
Lithuania, too, already has a fence along its border with Russia at Vistytis.