Refugee crisis: Lukashenko asks Russia for missiles and NATO assesses sending troops to Polish border

It also started as a migration crisis but It has already become a bitter conflict between Russia and Europe. Thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa who have come to Belarus in recent weeks have been forced to concentrate on the Polish border. There the police and the Polish army blocked their way. From Warsaw, they accuse dictator Alexander Lukashenko of causing the incident by attracting and converting refugees through government tourism agencies. A “time bomb” Locked them in the border and forced them to cross the European border illegally.

Since then, there have been clashes between Polish guards and immigrants, with fierce gunfire from Belarusian soldiers and famine and cold in the jungles as fugitives try to “infiltrate”. Lukashenko is apparently not alone. This has the support of Russia. And yesterday he asked to give it to his friend Vladimir Putin A nuclear defense organization to protect its borders with Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine.

France has already warned Moscow that if the crisis continues to escalate, NATO will intervene. It is suspected when in the United States and Europe The border crisis was “fabricated” to cover up the large deployment of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine..

The European Union has already stepped up sanctions against Belarus in an attempt to curb what it considers Belarusian policy of pushing immigrants into Poland. We need to avenge the obstacles that preceded last year’s crackdown on protests Against Lukashenko’s fraudulent re-election. From Minsk they deny any such allegation and assure that the refugees reached the Polish border without being threatened by the Belarusian guards. It also says Russia is suspected of being behind the killings They are “fabricated lies.” But in Brussels they did not trust him. Are sure The refugee crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border is closely linked to what is happening on the other Russian-Ukrainian border.

Yesterday the President of France, Emanuel Macron spoke with Putin on the phone And told him that NATO would be ready to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty, and that, according to NATO, Moscow was increasing its forces. “The President reiterated our desire to safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and security along the Polish border.” Macron’s adviser told reporters at the Elysee Palace.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “We are watching Abnormal concentration of troopsWe know that Russia has previously used this type of military capability to carry out aggression against Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that he “rejects” suspicions of an increase in Russian military action. But the U.S. Department of Defense has responded that they are their satellites They continued to see Russia concentrate its forces with extraordinary military operations near its border with Ukraine. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he was concerned about the development and that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would meet with the Ukrainian prime minister on Thursday.

Russian-backed separatists took control of the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine in 2014, a conflict that continues to this day. Moscow also annexed the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine earlier that year, following Ukraine’s desire for closer ties with the European Union.. Moscow claims the waters of the Black Sea around Crimea, although most countries still consider the peninsula to be Ukrainian. In a conversation with Macron, the Russian leader called the large-scale military exercises in the waters claimed by the United States and its allies a “provocation.” “This increases tensions in relations between Russia and NATO.” For his part, the Kremlin spokesman began.

Lukashenko, meanwhile, wants Russia’s nuclear arsenal to protect its southern and western borders, targeting Poland and Lithuania on the one hand and Ukraine on the other. “I need several divisions in the west and south, which have a very strong security system,” he said. Lukashenko told the Russian National Security Agency. “Belarus and Russia are formally part of a ‘union state’ and we have been negotiating closely and closely for many years,” he recalled. The next day, Sunday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki raised the need for talks in NATO on what to do next. “There is no doubt that things have gone too far.” In parallel, Estonian Defense Minister Calle Lanet added “The potential for increase is very high.”

“If you want to provoke a war, here is the formula with the highest probability of success. Send thousands of immigrants to your border, try to push your border forces into the neighborhood, and fire alert when your neighbors try to expel the migrants. In such a tense situation Soldiers from other countries may misunderstand the fire and fire back. On the Belarusian border with Poland, such an accidental conflict is now a definite danger. What will NATO do if that happens?Elizabeth Bra, of the American Enterprise Institute, asks in an article she published on the special site. Security one.

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel wants to cool the situation Lukashenko sought to set up a corridor to provide humanitarian assistance to thousands of migrants, many of whom Iraqis say have been deceived by Belarusian travel agencies. They were promised entry into Poland and from there to Germany and other Central European countries “without major problems”.. For now, Minsk has shown no signs of wanting to cooperate with Merkel’s proposal. Lots of bad blood in between. This phone conversation First contact between the President of Belarus and the Western leader Since last year’s presidential election in Belarus, Lukashenko has provoked mass protests by protesters accusing him of electoral fraud and subsequent repression. The European Union has been raising sanctions on Belarus for months. Includes restrictions already used Lukashenko, his son and 165 Belarusian authorities on the list. Restrictions were also imposed on the export of potash, one of the country’s largest foreign exchange earners, and an industrial mineral widely used as fertilizer.

Lukashenko threatens to shut down gas pipeline carrying Russian gas to EU Via Belarusian territory. “We are heating up Europe and they are threatening to close the border,” the dictator told the state news agency Belda about the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline. “What if the natural gas there is cut off? I recommend them to think before speaking to Poland, Lithuania and other bare-headed people.

Meanwhile, while all the leaders are showing their teeth, it seems that some are already hearing the sound of war trumpets. Tens of thousands of people are outside in the freezing cold Without access to basic services. Despite this, they say they are willing to be on no-man’s land between Belarus and Poland. Until Russia and Europe settle their affairs and end their journey to the less hostile territory where they came from and are now trapped.

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