The NATO and EU member borders Belarus, the Russian territory of Kaliningrad and Ukraine — plus a strip of land connecting it to Lithuania. It is an unstable and volatile mix of frontiers.
In the middle of Poland's Bialowieza Forest, one of Europe's oldest remaining forests, stands Europe's newest border wall: a 15-foot-high metal fence topped with razor wire and security cameras. Poland finished building this fence a year ago to try to stem an influx of migrants assisted to the border by Belarusian soldiers, whose government is trying to destabilize Europe.
Zdanowicz says these incidents started in earnest in May."Since then, events take place several times a week along the border," she says."Just yesterday there was an attack, the day before yesterday there was another attack. Yesterday a group of about 60 people gathered on the Belarusian side and threw stones at our border officers."
Swierczynski calls the Suwalki Gap"the Holy Grail" for Russian President Vladimir Putin. If there were ever a conflict between Russia and NATO countries, analysts say Putin would likely attack this stretch of land first. And that's why Poland is taking this latest threat from Belarus seriously.Magdalena Ostrowska stands in front of her restored 19th century hotel and restaurant in Bialowieza, along Poland's border with Belarus.
A few miles away in downtown Bialowieze, tour guide Nina Zin says she's also lost money because of the border threat, which she thinks is hyped by the Polish media and has been turned into a political spectacle by the government. The scandal is unfolding as the Law and Justice party has put border security at the center of its reelection campaign.Andrzej Bobinski
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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