NATO ally Poland warns Russia, Belarus pushing illegal migrants toward alliance — and the US

This is portion 2 of a bid examining the challenges confronting the NATO alliance.

POLAND-BELARUS BORDER — Riding successful a subject convoy escorted by armored vehicles from Poland’s 18th "Iron Division" on the country’s 521-kilometer borderline with Belarus, soldiers pointed toward dense forests wherever they accidental Europe’s newest signifier of warfare is unfolding.

Polish officials pass amerciable migrants weaponized by Russia and Belarus to destabilize NATO's eastbound flank are besides making their mode to the United States — portion of what Warsaw calls an ongoing warfare against the Western confederation that has nonstop implications for American security.

The borderline was erstwhile guarded chiefly by Poland’s Border Guard and police. But aft years of mounting unit from amerciable crossings, Polish officials accidental the service was deployed due to the fact that the concern became excessively ample and excessively unsafe to grip arsenic a accepted migration challenge.

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Soldiers from Poland’s 18th "Iron Division" instrumentality portion successful a subject workout astatine the Poland-Belarus borderline amid what Polish officials picture arsenic a Russian and Belarusian run to weaponize amerciable migration against NATO countries. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital.)

Now, the frontier is guarded successful layers: soldiers, borderline guards and rapid-response forces. A impermanent obstruction built successful 2021 has go an physics obstruction backed by surveillance systems and subject patrols. Polish officials accidental migrants trying to transverse person travel from countries including Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan and India.

They picture the situation arsenic "artificial migration," saying the illegals are flown into Belarus from the Middle East, Africa and Asia and past transported toward the Polish borderline by Belarusian authorities successful an effort to unit and destabilize NATO countries.

Military officials astatine the borderline said the highest was successful 2021, erstwhile determination were 39,697 amerciable crossing attempts. By 2025, it was 29,869, somewhat less than successful 2024. So acold successful 2026, they person seen a large drop, they say.

For Warsaw, the numbers archer lone portion of the story.

Polish officials accidental the borderline unit is not spontaneous amerciable migration, but a Russian-backed Belarusian cognition designed to destabilize NATO from within.

"We are astatine war," Ambassador Krzysztof Olendzki of Poland’s Foreign Ministry told Fox News Digital aft the borderline visit.

"Not lone Poland, but besides each the countries of the eastbound flank of NATO, we are successful war," Olendzki said. "We cannot spot it arsenic a classical warfare with soldiers, with tanks and truthful on, but the warfare is exercised by our adversaries, by Belarus and Russia, who are utilizing practically migrants arsenic an asymmetric limb against NATO countries."

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File photograph shows mostly antheral amerciable migrants waiting astatine the closed country prepared by the Belarusian authorities wrong the borderline portion aft they cleared camps astatine the Poland-Belarus border, connected Nov. 18, 2021, successful Grodno region, Belarus.  (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The situation dates backmost to 2021, erstwhile Poland, Lithuania and Latvia accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s authorities of encouraging migrants from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere to question to Belarus and transverse illegally into the European Union. Belarus has denied orchestrating the flows, but Poland and the EU person described the run arsenic hybrid warfare.

Olendzki said the extremity is not lone to propulsion radical crossed the border, but to make chaos wrong Western societies.

The borderline sojourn underscored however acold Poland has gone to harden what it views arsenic 1 of NATO’s astir susceptible frontiers.

Capt. Angelika Korkosz of Poland’s 18th Division described the day-to-day strain connected soldiers stationed there.

"Many times soldiers were faced with aggression from amerciable groups of immigrants, and they person to enactment appropriately and calmly successful accordance with the instrumentality and procedures portion protecting themselves," Korkosz told Fox News Digital.

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A Polish worker stands ticker adjacent the Belarus border, wherever officials accidental migration unit has evolved into a signifier of hybrid warfare targeting NATO’s eastbound flank connected May 16, 2026.

Polish officials said migrants person utilized Molotov cocktails successful astatine slightest 2 incidents, sparking fires adjacent the border. Soldiers besides spoke of a Polish serviceman who died aft being stabbed by an amerciable migrant astatine the frontier.

Korkosz said the situation is not lone violence, but exhaustion.

"A fewer months ago, we had minus-20-degree winters, truthful 12-hour work during these conditions is truly demanding," she said. "Many soldiers are present for a agelong time, and it is getting much and much difficult, this agelong separation from their relatives."

Still, she said the troops are prepared.

"The grooming includes decision-making nether unit successful an ambiguous operational environment," Korkosz said. "That’s wherefore erstwhile we are present astatine the border, we are truly well-prepared for performing our duties."

Poland says the borderline defenses are working. Amb. Olendzki said the little fig of crossings this twelvemonth reflects the carnal barrier, the accrued effectiveness of the Border Guard and the subject presence. But helium warned the menace has not disappeared, lone shifted.

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Soldiers from Poland’s 18th Division show battlefield aesculapian grooming adjacent the Belarus borderline aft a serviceman from the part was killed successful an onslaught by an amerciable migrant. May 16th, 2026. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News)

"Seeing the information that the Polish-Belarusian borderline is rather good guarded, our adversaries are conscionable pushing migrants done the borders of our neighboring countries," helium said. "So it hasn’t ended, but it’s changed the direction. The menace inactive exists, and we indispensable beryllium vigilant."

That matters to NATO due to the fact that Poland’s borderline with Belarus is not lone Warsaw's border. It is besides the eastbound borderline of the European Union and NATO territory.

Belarus is Russia’s closest state and allowed its territory to beryllium utilized for Russia’s 2022 penetration of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia whitethorn beryllium trying to propulsion Belarus deeper into the warfare and could usage Belarusian territory to endanger Ukraine oregon adjacent a NATO country.

That fearfulness is cardinal to Poland’s information posture.

During a gathering with reporters successful Warsaw, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told Fox News Digital Russia’s warfare against Ukraine is, for Poland, "a substance of nationalist information and existence."

But Sikorski said the menace to NATO countries is already wider than the battlefield successful Ukraine.

"We had connected NATO countries’ territories assassinations, galore drone attacks connected airports, connected captious infrastructure," Sikorski said. "We had precise superior cyberattacks."

Polish soldiers basal ticker adjacent the Belarus border, wherever officials accidental migration unit has evolved into a signifier of hybrid warfare targeting NATO’s eastbound flank. May 16th, 2026. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

Sikorski said Poland faced a Russian-instigated cyberattack past December connected captious vigor infrastructure that Warsaw believes was intended "to achromatic retired portion of Poland."

The informing fits a broader signifier of concerns crossed NATO’s eastbound flank. The Associated Press reported earlier this twelvemonth that balloons from Belarus had crossed into Polish airspace for a 3rd consecutive night, with Polish forces describing the incidents arsenic attempts to trial aerial defence responses.

For Poland, amerciable migration, cyberattacks, drones, sabotage and disinformation are not abstracted problems. They are antithetic pieces of 1 Russian and Belarusian unit run against NATO.

Olendzki said Poland’s relation is to halt the unit earlier it moves deeper into Europe oregon beyond.

"Standing connected defender connected the eastbound flank of NATO, we are providing information not lone to Poland, to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, but to full NATO, besides to the United States," helium said.

US Border Patrol agents hole to transport migrants for asylum assertion processing astatine the US-Mexico borderline successful Campo, California, US, connected Friday, April 5, 2024. Last week a national justice sharply questioned the Biden administration's presumption that it bears nary work for lodging and feeding migrant children portion they hold successful makeshift camps on the US-Mexico border, reported the AP.  (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

That U.S. transportation is simply a cardinal portion of Poland’s connection to Washington: The eastbound flank is not a distant European problem, but a beforehand enactment successful a broader confrontation with Russia and its allies.

Poland present spends astir 5% of its GDP connected defense, the highest complaint successful NATO, if based connected GPD. Sikorski said Warsaw has agelong taken defence spending seriously.

"We ne'er went beneath 2% defence spending," Sikorski said. "Now we are spending astir 5%. This is existent subject spending."

He said the eastbound flank has go much influential wrong NATO due to the fact that countries closest to Russia were proven right.

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A Polish borderline defender astatine the Polish-Belarus borderline obstruction adjacent the colony of Ozierany Male, Poland, connected Friday, Jul. 4, 2025.  (Damian Lemanski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"The eastbound flank is overmuch much almighty than adjacent 5 years ago," Sikorski said. "We were close astir the quality of Putin’s authorities and Russia’s assertive strategy."

That presumption has shaped Poland’s attack to the United States. Warsaw wants American troops to stay successful Europe, but Polish officials besides admit that Europe indispensable presume much of the defence load arsenic U.S. attraction progressively shifts toward China and the Indo-Pacific.

Sikorski said Poland understands that "Europe ceased to beryllium space fig 1 for U.S. overseas policy," but wants immoderate alteration successful America’s relation to beryllium "gradual and well-designed."

He added that Poland wants the displacement successful trans-Atlantic information to beryllium "not a divorce, but a caller benignant of relationship."

For now, that narration is being tested on a cold, wooded borderline wherever Poland says NATO’s aboriginal wars whitethorn already beryllium taking shape.

The Polish soldiers patrolling the frontier bash not picture their ngo successful expansive geopolitical terms. Korkosz said she joined the subject due to the fact that she wanted to bash "something which matters."

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Members of Poland’s 18th "Iron Division" patrol the Belarus borderline arsenic Warsaw accuses Belarus and Russia of funneling amerciable migrants toward NATO territory. May 16, 2026. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

But to Polish officials, the ngo astatine the Belarus borderline is overmuch bigger than migration enforcement.

It is simply a informing to the remainder of NATO that the alliance’s adjacent warfare whitethorn not statesman with tanks crossing a border, but with migrants pushed done forests, cyberattacks connected powerfulness grids, drones adjacent airports and disinformation campaigns designed to fracture societies from within.