Frontline Poland seeks to sharpen EU focus on Russia's 'hybrid' war

Standing at the base of a five-meter-high (16-foot) metal fence topped by barbed-wire running along the border with Belarus, armed Polish soldiers are on the lookout for migrants.

Warsaw has accused its Moscow-allied neighbour of orchestrating an artificial influx of people as part of a Russian-led hybrid warfare campaign that Poland would like the EU to tackle more firmly.

Belarus aimed to "destabilise" Poland and the EU "via this weaponisation of migration," said Maciej Duszczyk, Poland undersecretary of state in charge for migration, during a visit to the now-closed border crossing of Polowce.

Having taken up the EU's rotating presidency this month, Poland has placed beefing up Europe's defences at the top of the 27-nation bloc's agenda, under the motto "Security, Europe!"

The only NATO member to share a border with both Russia and Ukraine, it sees itself on the front line of Moscow's attempts to destabilise the West.

To deter a possible invasion, it plans to strengthen its eastern flank with ditches, lines of anti-tank hedgehogs, landmines and other fortifications.

Warsaw is seeking EU funding for the project, which would cost more than two billion euros ($2 billion).

Poland is among several countries that have accused Russia of sabotaging air travel infrastructure. In addition, it borders the Baltic Sea, where NATO this week launched a monitoring mission after undersea cables were severed in suspected acts of sabotage.

The government says Russia is also behind a spate of disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining support for Ukraine, as well as a wave of cyberattacks that saw authorities record one incident every two hours last year.

Warsaw is likely to push for better coordination and more money to address those issues during its six-month EU presidency, said Cyrille Bret, a researcher at the Paris-based Jacques Delors Institute, a think-tank.

"Poland is in a cyberspace cold war," digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski told journalists in Warsaw on Wednesday, describing his country as the "most attacked" in Europe.

- 'In danger' -

Of all the tools in Russia's alleged hybrid war chest, migration is perhaps the most visible -- and Warsaw's response to it the most controversial.

The government accuses Moscow and Minsk of flying in or bussing people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia and other nations, to then direct them towards Poland.

The Polish border agency said it recorded almost 30,000 attempted illegal crossings in 2024.

Thousands of soldiers, cameras and drones have been deployed to stop groups attempting to scale over the metal fence, which runs for 186 kilometres through large forested areas and cost about 500 million euros.

These efforts have sparked criticism.

In December, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Warsaw of "unlawfully and sometimes violently" forcing people back, describing the practice as "inhumane" and contravening EU rules.

Often forced on by Belarusian guards and pushed back by their Polish counterparts, many are left stranded in the woods "in very harsh conditions, without food or water", Lydia Gall, a HRW researcher, told AFP.

"People die there," she said.

Duszczyk said border patrols rescue those in need but admitted guards turn away those found near the fence who have no intention of claiming asylum in Poland.

Most want to move onto Germany or other EU countries, he said.

Only one person froze to death on the Polish side in 2024, but the government does not collect figures for deaths that occurred in Belarus.

We Are Monitoring, a Polish civil society group, recorded 14 deaths along the border in 2024, according to HRW.

In December, the government adopted a bill that would allow it to temporarily limit asylum rights, providing legal cover for pushbacks.

The bill still needs parliamentary approval, but the EU has already indicated it would not go against the bloc's rules if implemented under "strict conditions".

Warsaw was also pushing to review EU policies on returns and safe countries of origins to boost deportations, Duszczyk said.

The plan is backed by Italy, the Netherlands and others keen to crack down on irregular migration.

"We are in danger, we need to use exceptional tools," said Duszczyk.

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