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

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

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

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

The separator was erstwhile guarded chiefly by Poland’s Border Guard and police. But aft years of mounting unit from forbidden crossings, Polish officials opportunity nan service was deployed because nan business became excessively ample and excessively vulnerable to grip arsenic a accepted migration challenge.

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

Now, nan frontier is guarded successful layers: soldiers, separator 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 opportunity migrants trying to transverse person travel from countries including Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan and India.

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

Military officials astatine nan separator said nan highest was successful 2021, erstwhile location were 39,697 forbidden crossing attempts. By 2025, it was 29,869, somewhat less than successful 2024. So acold successful 2026, they person seen a awesome drop, they say.

For Warsaw, nan numbers show only portion of nan story.

Polish officials opportunity nan separator unit is not spontaneous forbidden 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 nan separator visit.

"Not only Poland, but besides each nan countries of nan eastbound flank of NATO, we are successful war," Olendzki said. "We cannot spot it arsenic a classical warfare pinch soldiers, pinch tanks and truthful on, but nan 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 forbidden migrants waiting astatine nan closed area prepared by nan Belarusian authorities wrong nan separator region aft they cleared camps astatine nan 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 nan Middle East, Africa and elsewhere to recreation to Belarus and transverse illegally into nan European Union. Belarus has denied orchestrating nan flows, but Poland and nan EU person described nan run arsenic hybrid warfare.

Olendzki said nan extremity is not only to push group crossed nan border, but to create chaos wrong Western societies.

The separator sojourn underscored really 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 nan day-to-day strain connected soldiers stationed there.

"Many times soldiers were faced pinch aggression from forbidden groups of immigrants, and they person to enactment appropriately and calmly successful accordance pinch nan law and procedures while protecting themselves," Korkosz told Fox News Digital.

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A Polish worker stands watch adjacent nan Belarus border, wherever officials opportunity migration unit has evolved into a shape 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 nan border. Soldiers besides said of a Polish serviceman who died aft being stabbed by an forbidden migrant astatine nan frontier.

Korkosz said nan situation is not only violence, but exhaustion.

"A fewer months ago, we had minus-20-degree winters, truthful 12-hour work during these conditions is really 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 nan troops are prepared.

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

Poland says nan separator defenses are working. Amb. Olendzki said nan little number of crossings this twelvemonth reflects nan beingness barrier, nan accrued effectiveness of nan Border Guard and nan subject presence. But he warned nan threat has not disappeared, only shifted.

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Soldiers from Poland’s 18th Division show battlefield aesculapian training adjacent nan Belarus separator aft a serviceman from nan section was killed successful an onslaught by an forbidden migrant. May 16th, 2026. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News)

"Seeing nan truth that nan Polish-Belarusian separator is rather good guarded, our adversaries are conscionable pushing migrants done nan borders of our neighboring countries," he said. "So it hasn’t ended, but it’s changed nan direction. The threat still exists, and we must beryllium vigilant."

That matters to NATO because Poland’s separator pinch Belarus is not only Warsaw's border. It is besides nan eastbound separator of nan 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 nan warfare and could usage Belarusian territory to frighten Ukraine aliases moreover a NATO country.

That fearfulness is cardinal to Poland’s information posture.

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

But Sikorski said nan threat to NATO countries is already wider than nan battlefield successful Ukraine.

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

Polish soldiers guidelines watch adjacent nan Belarus border, wherever officials opportunity migration unit has evolved into a shape 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 power infrastructure that Warsaw believes was intended "to achromatic retired portion of Poland."

The informing fits a broader shape 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, pinch Polish forces describing nan incidents arsenic attempts to trial aerial defense responses.

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

Olendzki said Poland’s domiciled is to extremity nan unit earlier it moves deeper into Europe aliases beyond.

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

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

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

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

"We ne'er went beneath 2% defense spending," Sikorski said. "Now we are spending almost 5%. This is existent military spending."

He said nan eastbound flank has go much influential wrong NATO because countries closest to Russia were proven right.

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

"The eastbound flank is overmuch much powerful than moreover 5 years ago," Sikorski said. "We were right astir nan quality of Putin’s authorities and Russia’s fierce strategy."

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

Sikorski said Poland understands that "Europe ceased to beryllium perspective number 1 for U.S. foreign policy," but wants immoderate alteration successful America’s domiciled to beryllium "gradual and well-designed."

He added that Poland wants nan 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 separator wherever Poland says NATO’s early wars whitethorn already beryllium taking shape.

The Polish soldiers operating nan frontier do not picture their ngo successful expansive geopolitical terms. Korkosz said she joined nan subject because she wanted to do "something which matters."

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

But to Polish officials, nan ngo astatine nan Belarus separator is overmuch bigger than immigration enforcement.

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