By Tvp World
Copyright kyivpost
The European Union has voiced support for Poland after Warsaw announced it would keep all its crossings with Belarus shut, citing ongoing threats despite the end of Russian-Belarusian military drills earlier this week.
Warsaw ordered the shutdown on September 12, when Moscow and Minsk launched their large-scale “Zapad 2025” exercises. Although the drills ended on September 16, the restrictions remain in place, with all cross-border road and rail traffic forbidden.
“This is a security issue,” European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said in Brussels on Thursday, answering questions about the economic impact of the border closure.
He added that any trade disruptions stem from “Russia’s brutal, illegal and unjustified war.”
Another Commission spokesman, Markus Lammert, confirmed that Poland had formally notified the EU on September 10 of its decision to close the frontier with Belarus.
‘Full protection’
“Poland’s external borders are the EU’s external borders, and we must ensure their full protection against any threats to the integrity and security of our territory,” he said.
The backing comes as Poland maintains its hard line on border security. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the crossings “will remain closed not until the end of the ‘Zapad’ maneuvers but until there is 100% certainty that Poland faces no threats or provocations.”
“Should we receive reports from the [security] services that security has been restored, we’ll open the border,” he added.
Rise in drone activity
“Last night, the Border Guard monitored an uptick in the activity of Belarusian and Russian drones attempting to enter Polish airspace,” Kierwiński told reporters. “One can see that the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border is still very, very tense.”
The suspension affects both passenger travel and freight, including goods moving from China to the EU. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has linked the decision to broader threats from Moscow and Minsk, saying Poland is “ready for any possible provocations.”
