Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
More than 300 migrants attempted illegally to cross the Polish border from Belarus last Thursday and Friday, reviving fears of weaponised migration on Europe’s eastern flank as the EU prepares for elections. The Polish border guard service said the migrants attacked its personnel with branches and stones, leaving two soldiers in hospital, one of them stabbed and in a “very serious condition”. Four people were detained on charges of smuggling the migrants to the border. There have been nearly 12,000 attempts to cross the border illegally since the start of April. It’s not unusual for migrants to throw stones, branches and bottles at the border service’s vehicles, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced the restoration of the 200-metre buffer zone between Poland and Belarus to deter them. What’s striking is the help being afforded these migrants by Russian and Belarussian authorities – at a price.