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Construction of the razor-wire fence will commence immediately, Source: Unsplash

Poland to seal itself off from Russian exclave with razor-wire border

Poland to seal itself off from Russian exclave with razor-wire border

The Polish officials claim that Kremlin intends to use its Baltic territory as a springboard for illegal migrants into the EU

Polish defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak has announced the intention of his country to raise a barb-wire fence on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The decision was apparently motivated due to growing concerns among officials that the Kremlin intends to use its Baltic foothold region as a springboard for illegal migration by bringing in migrants from Asia and Africa and then letting them cross into Poland.

That kind of tactic made headlines last year when Belarussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko used the same tactic to sow insecurity and apply pressure on the eastern flank of the European Union, in response to sanctions levied against his regime.

Construction to start immediately

I have decided to take actions that will strengthen the security on the Polish border with the Kaliningrad Oblast by sealing this border,” announced Mariusz Błaszczak earlier today, at a press conference.

The temporary barrier will consist of three rows of razor wire, 3 metres wide and 2.5 metres high…[and] it will have devices for electronic surveillance,” he added. “We are starting work immediately, today.

The decision follows recent speculation that additional flights are being launched from the Middle East and North Africa to Kaliningrad, notes RMF24. According to the Polish official, this is eerily similar to the scenario that played out earlier with Belarus, and is all part of the hybrid warfare tactics that the two authoritarian countries are waging on the EU.

The exclave, where Russia has a significant military presence, sits on the Baltic Sea coast between Poland and Lithuania and is separated from Belarus by a border corridor. The corridor itself was also part of controversial news earlier this year when Lithuania prohibited the transportation of certain commodities on it as part of the sanctions regime imposed by the West on Russia.

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