Polish President Karol Nawrocki deployed military forces to the German and Lithuanian borders on Friday in response to rising illegal immigration. The deployment takes effect on Sunday and continues through April 4, 2026. Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said 700 troops were already stationed at the western frontier in July, and plans call for 5,000 additional personnel to support border guards.
Poland extended temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania through April 2026 after first reinstating them in early July. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said authorities would monitor migration routes from Baltic states through Poland to Western Europe. Polish officials recorded nearly 25,000 attempted illegal crossings at the Belarusian border and detained 500 foreigners, plus 60 suspected traffickers, at the Lithuanian frontier since January.
Poland, Germany, and Lithuania belong to the Schengen border-free zone, but Germany reinstated checks in late 2023 under emergency provisions. Warsaw accused German police of returning thousands of migrants to Polish territory. Polish authorities have blamed Belarus for directing illegal immigration into European Union member states at Russia's direction since 2021, but Minsk and Moscow denied the allegations.
Poland extended temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania through April 2026 after first reinstating them in early July. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said authorities would monitor migration routes from Baltic states through Poland to Western Europe. Polish officials recorded nearly 25,000 attempted illegal crossings at the Belarusian border and detained 500 foreigners, plus 60 suspected traffickers, at the Lithuanian frontier since January.
Poland, Germany, and Lithuania belong to the Schengen border-free zone, but Germany reinstated checks in late 2023 under emergency provisions. Warsaw accused German police of returning thousands of migrants to Polish territory. Polish authorities have blamed Belarus for directing illegal immigration into European Union member states at Russia's direction since 2021, but Minsk and Moscow denied the allegations.
