What is destabilising the Polish-Belarus border?

As NATO-Russia tensions grow, Poland increases border guards and soldiers.

Members of the Polish Border Guard and Polish soldiers, stand guard at the construction site of a barrier at the border between Poland and Belarus in Tolcze near Kuznica, Poland.
Members of the Polish Border Guard and Polish soldiers stand guard at the construction site of a barrier at the border between Poland and Belarus in Tolcze near Kuznica, Poland, on February 16, 2022 [Grzegorz Dabrowski Agencja Wyborcza.pl via Reuters]

As Yevgeny Prigozhin captures global headlines, tensions are already high at Poland’s border with Belarus, which marks the edge of the European Union. On the other side, Belarus has been furthering its alliance with Russia as the invasion of Ukraine continues. Now, fighters from the Wagner mercenary group have camped out in Belarus, leaving those in border villages in uncertainty and fear. In Poland, border guards and soldiers are growing in number, and the Polish government has cracked down on people who they say are illegally crossing the border. So, how has all the tension been affecting the residents?

In this episode: 

  • Dawid Krawczyk (@DJKrawczyk), producer for Al Jazeera

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Fahrinisa Campana and Chloe K. Li, with our host Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Tim St Clair mixed this episode. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera AlDosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Source: Al Jazeera

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