Poland has reframed the debate on migration through the lenses of national security, forcing the EU to change its tune. View on euronews

It’s needed, the government in Warsaw says, because Russia and Belarus are waging a particular kind of hybrid warfare: helping groups of migrants — mostly from Africa or the Middle East — to break through the border to provoke and destabilize Poland and the rest of Europe.

After breaking away from a crumbling Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Belarus became increasingly aligned with Russia, unlike its neighbors. That bond strengthened as Russia waged its war against Ukraine.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his ally in neighbouring Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, have sought to weaponise migration by pushing thousands of migrants brought from elsewhere in the world over the EU’s borders in an effort to fuel support for anti-immigration far-right parties.

With opponents jailed or exiled, Alexander Lukashenko has also brought polling forward, with protests considered less likely in frigid weather.

POŁOWCE, Poland — Poland’s fortified buffer zone against Belarus and Russia could see a surge in migrants in the coming months, officials here warn, as spring temperatures encourage more people to attempt border crossings.

Belarus is a buffer state. That is the geography, and there is no escaping it. But Belarus is not just a buffer. Our country is a geopolitical buffer in the center of Europe. We are exactly on the rift of two worlds.

It’s become a buffer zone since Belarus’ ally, Russia, invaded neighboring Ukraine three years ago. Similar fortifications farther north line Poland's frontier with the Russian region of ...

Poland Wants the EU Focused on Security. Its Border With Belarus Highlights the Challenges POLOWCE, Poland (AP) — Poland's six-month presidency of the European Union is firmly focused on security.

Follow the latest Belarus Protests news stories and headlines. Get breaking news alerts when you download the ABC News App and subscribe to Belarus Protests notifications.

Having missed almost four years of her son's life while incarcerated in a Belarusian prison, Irina Schastnaya still wants to zip up the 14-year-old's coat, struggling to digest how tall he grew in her absence.

Belarus is holding a presidential election on Sunday that will secure another five-year mandate for Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for over three decades and crushed all opposition.