Poland-Belarus border row escalates as Russia sends nuclear-capable bombers to Belarus airspace

Kremlin move viewed as show of support for Belarus in row with EU over migrants at Poland border

Watch live as EU Council president and Polish PM hold joint news conference on Belarus border crisis

Russia dispatched two nuclear-capable strategic bombers to patrol Belarusian airspace in a show of strength amid a deepening row with the EU over migrants at the Belarus/Poland border.

The Kremlin said it sent two Tu-22M3 aircraft, capable of carrying nuclear missiles - including hypersonic weapons of the kind designed to evade air defences - to fly over Belarus on Wednesday

It came after an escalation in hostilities at the border, which saw two groups of migrants crossing into Poland before being detained by officials.

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa are trying to get to the EU via Poland, adding to growing concerns of armed conflict grow amid rising hostility between the European Union and Minsk.

Camped in sub-zero temperatures and surrounded by armed guards, water cannons and barbed wire, clashes between migrants seeking entry to the EU and Polish border guards are expected to escalate in the coming days.

The worsening situation has caused alarm across Europe, with the EU accusing Belarus of encouraging illegal migration in revenge for previous sanctions on Minsk over human rights abuses.

There have also been accusations, from Poland, that the crisis is being "masterminded" by Russia to cause another migrant crisis situation within the EU, which the Kremlin denies.

Key Points

• Russia sends bombers to patrol Belarus airspace as migrant crisis escalates
• Poland accuses Belarus troops of firing shots to intimidate migrants
• Clashes as two groups of migrants detained at Poland/Belarus border
• Why are there tensions at the border?

[10 November 2021 11:30 · Matt Mathers]

Putin ‘proposes talks between EU member states and Minsk'

According to a Kremlin readout of the phone call between Merkel and Putin, the Russian president "proposed to establish a discussion of the problems that have arisen in direct contacts of representatives of the EU member states with Minsk." It also said that Putin and Merkel "agreed to continue the conversation on the issue."

Putin speaks during a meeting with Defense Ministry high level officials and heads of defense industry at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, 3 November 2021 (AP)

[10 November 2021 11:45 · Matt Mathers]

Belarus ‘transporting migrants to Lithuania border by truck'

Belarus is transporting migrants to its border with Lithuania by truck, a high-raking Lithuanian border guard has suggested.

"Movement near the state border is ongoing, Rustamas Liubajevas told the Baltic News Service.

“Even being here, our officers hear the sounds of heavy machinery in the Belarusian territory, which might mean that trucks are possibly bringing in illegal migrants," Mr Liubajevas, the commander of the country’s State Border Guard Service, added.

[10 November 2021 12:00 · Matt Mathers]

Belarus accuses Poland of beating migrants

Belarus’ State Border Guard Committee said on social media on Wednesday that four men of Kurdish descent in the makeshift migrant camp at the border were injured and accused Poland’s security forces of inflicting those injuries.

"According to the refugees, they were detained on the territory of Poland, where they tried to ask for protection and refugee status.

“Judging by the numerous injuries...the Polish security forces mistreated the men and forcibly pushed them out through a barbed fence on the border with Belarus," the committee said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, accompanied by pictures of bloodied individuals.

Polish police and border guards stand near barbed wire to stop migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere gathering at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, Tuesday, 9 November (AP)

[10 November 2021 12:15 · Matt Mathers]

Watch: Thousands of migrants line Poland/Belarus border

Footage posted by the Polish defence ministry yesterday shows migrants queueing up at the border with Belarus, near the Kuźnica region.

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa are trying to cross the border into the EU.

Many of the migrants hope to go to Germany, whose chancellor earlier today described Belarus’s treatment of those making the treacherous journey as inhumane.

Poland has accused Russia, a close ally of the Belarus government, of being behind attempts to create another migrant crisis, which it denies.

[10 November 2021 12:45 · Matt Mathers]

Putin behind border crisis, Poland says

Russian president Vladimir Putin is masterminding the crisis at the Poland/Belarus border, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has claimed.

“(Belarusian leader) Lukashenko is the executor of the latest assault, but this assault has a sponsor who is to be found in Moscow, and this sponsor is President Putin,” he told parliament yesterday.

Russia refutes the suggestion.

“It is apparent that a humanitarian catastrophe is looming against the background of Europeans’ reluctance to demonstrate commitment to their European values,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing.

He described as “absolutely irresponsible and unacceptable” a comment by Mr Morawiecki on Tuesday that Mr Putin Putin was behind the crisis.

[10 November 2021 13:15 · Matt Mathers]

Recap: Why is a migrant crisis unfolding at the Poland-Belarus border?

Here is what you need to know about the unfolding migrant crisis:

[10 November 2021 13:30 · Matt Mathers]

EU needs to decide if it will finance border fences in countries like Lithuania

The EU needs to make up its mind if it is ready to finance fences to help countries such as Lithuania in protecting the bloc’s external borders against a "hybrid attack" by Belarus, European Council president Charles Michel said on Wednesday.

"About the physical infrastructure to protect the borders: based on an opinion of the legal service of the Council, it is legally possible, based on the current legal framework at European level, to finance infrastructure," Michel told reporters after meeting Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw.

"This is a decision that needs to be taken by the Commission, but in any case, the legal opinion of the Council is very clear," he added.

The Commission is the EU’s executive body, while the Council represents the bloc’s member states.

A polish serviceman prepares to repair a barbed wire fence to stop migrants gathering at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno Grodno, Belarus, Tuesday, 9 Nov (AP)

[10 November 2021 13:45 · Matt Mathers]

UN calls for ‘immediate steps’ end to ‘intolerabe’ migrant crisis at border

Countries must take “immediate steps” to deescalate the “intolerable” migrant crisis at the border between Poland and Belarus, the UN has said.

Michelle Bachelet, the UN’s human rights chief, made the comments in a statement on Wednesday.

"I urge the states involved to take immediate steps to de-escalate and resolve this intolerable situation in line with their obligations under international human rights law and refugee law," Bachelet said in a statement.

Actions by both sides "including through the increased deployment of troops and accompanying inflammatory rhetoric" exacerbate the vulnerability and risks that migrants and refugees face, she said.

Bachelet called for immediate access for aid workers, lawyers and journalists to those stranded.

"These hundreds of men, women and children must not be forced to spend another night in freezing weather without adequate shelter, food, water and medical care," she said.

"Under international law, no one should ever be prevented from seeking protection, and individual consideration must be given to their protection needs."

[10 November 2021 14:00 · Matt Mathers]

Russia: Crisis should not be used to impose sanctions on Minsk

The European Union should not use the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border as a pretext to impose fresh sanctions against Minsk, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

“Of course, we think it is unacceptable to use migrant issues as an excuse to introduce new sanctions against Belarus...including the European Union’s fifth package of sanctions,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, referring to a set of measures Brussels was said to be close to adopting.

[10 November 2021 14:40 · Matt Mathers]

UN calls for aid workers and journalists to get access to border

Aid workers, journalists and other civil society actors must be granted access to the Polish border to help migrants there, the UN has said.

“States need to work together to protect the lives and dignity of all those stranded at their common borders,” UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said.

“Immediate access should be granted to humanitarian actors, as well as other civil society and journalists and lawyers. “