Poland is prolonging the exclusion zone along its 400-kilometre eastern border with Belarus by another three months up to March 5 next year, the Interior Ministry announced in Warsaw on Thursday.
The ministry pointed to “continuing danger from migration pressure from Belarus” as the reason.
Poland and the European Union accuse Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately funnelling migrants from crisis regions to the border with the aim of putting pressure on Poland and the European Union.
Many of the migrants seek to travel onward from Poland to Germany and other EU countries.
Poland fortified the border to Belarus in the summer of 2022 with a 5.5-metre fence and electronic sensors, but this has failed to stop migrants from attempting to cross the EU’s external border.
More than 4,600 attempts have been recorded since the beginning of September, according to the Interior Ministry.
The exclusion zone was set up in June 2024 to curb irregular migration and to improve conditions for border guards, police and troops. It has a depth of 200 metres, but in a few places it extends up to 4 kilometres.
Only residents and the uniformed services are allowed to enter. Representatives of aid organizations and the media require permission.