Poland says it has repelled an attempt by hundreds of migrants and refugees to enter the country from its eastern border with Belarus. Warsaw said it has deployed additional soldiers, border guards and police in response to the situation along its eastern border.
The European Union has accused Belarus of encouraging migrants from the Middle East and Africa to cross over illegally into Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The EU says Belarus is engaging in a form of hybrid warfare in revenge for Western sanctions on longtime President Alexander Lukashenko’s government.
The EU, the US and the UK imposed sanctions on Belarus after Lukashenko cracked down on mass protests following last year’s presidential vote. Lukashenko and his government have denied the accusations even as Poland says thousands of migrants abetted by Belarus were on the way.
Lithuania has said it was moving additional troops to its border with Belarus to prepare for a possible surge in attempted crossings from the latter. While Latvia described the situation as “alarming”, the EU vowed action in the face of what it said was a “hybrid threat”.
On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on member states to impose new sanctions against Belarus. US has called on Belarus to “immediately halt its campaign of orchestrating and coercing irregular migrant flows across its borders into Europe”.
While the Western governments accuse Belarus of using “migrants for political purposes”, Russia has supported Belarus and Lukashenko.
Dr. Niranjan B Poojar 
Bhagyashree Gupta 
Balaji Subramanian