Polish soldiers have fired 1,190 warning shots on the Polish-Belarusian border since the beginning of 2024, the Rzeczpospolita daily has reported.
The newspaper cited data received from the Ministry of Defence, according to which so far, there has only been one incident where a migrant has been harmed as a result of the use of weapons near the border.
The incident took place in November 2023 near Lake Topiło in north-eastern Poland. The military were pursuing a group of migrants, and one of the soldiers resorted to firing a warning shot, which ricocheted and wounded a Syrian person, who was then taken to hospital.
Rzeczpospolita wrote that the circumstances of the shooting of the migrant are being investigated by the military police and the military department of the district public prosecutor’s office in Warsaw.
According to the newspaper, the case was initially classified as careless handling of a weapon and unintentionally causing injury to another person, but its findings indicate that the investigation is still ongoing, as investigators in Warsaw are waiting for ballistic tests.
Another such case involved soldiers, who fired warning shots in the direction of the migrants, for which they had been detained by the military police and had charges filed against them.
The incident took place in November 2023 near Lake Topiło in north-eastern Poland. The military were pursuing a group of migrants, and one of the soldiers resorted to firing a warning shot, which ricocheted and wounded a Syrian person, who was then taken to hospital.
Rzeczpospolita wrote that the circumstances of the shooting of the migrant are being investigated by the military police and the military department of the district public prosecutor’s office in Warsaw.
According to the newspaper, the case was initially classified as careless handling of a weapon and unintentionally causing injury to another person, but its findings indicate that the investigation is still ongoing, as investigators in Warsaw are waiting for ballistic tests.
Another such case involved soldiers, who fired warning shots in the direction of the migrants, for which they had been detained by the military police and had charges filed against them.
Escalating tensions on the border
Although Poland has been dealing with pressure in its eastern regions since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the situation heightened recently following the incident on May 28 when a Polish soldier was stabbed near the border area of Dubicze Cerkiewne in the Podlaskie province of Poland. The soldier passed away on Thursday.
In recent months, there have been other instances when soldiers have been injured while protecting the border. These incidents have resulted in both the media and the country’s government looking into the crisis more closely.
Warsaw has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating an artificial migrant crisis by smuggling illegal migrants and refugees through the Polish-Belarusian border with the aim of destabilizing the situation on NATO’s eastern flank and in the EU.
Although Poland has been dealing with pressure in its eastern regions since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the situation heightened recently following the incident on May 28 when a Polish soldier was stabbed near the border area of Dubicze Cerkiewne in the Podlaskie province of Poland. The soldier passed away on Thursday.
In recent months, there have been other instances when soldiers have been injured while protecting the border. These incidents have resulted in both the media and the country’s government looking into the crisis more closely.
Warsaw has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating an artificial migrant crisis by smuggling illegal migrants and refugees through the Polish-Belarusian border with the aim of destabilizing the situation on NATO’s eastern flank and in the EU.
Source: PAP, TVP World
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