The government plenipotentiary for the security of the information space of the Republic of Poland Stanisław Żaryn claims that “Russians deliberately use foreigners to weaken Western countries”. Polish authorities believe that the stimulated migration is an element of a hybrid warfare against the West.

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Żaryn pointed out that a hybrid operation against Poland is still underway as Belarus and Russia still try to create a migration route through the Polish-Belarussian border. The official added that from the very beginning, the activities at the border were coordinated, systemic, and carried out by the states of Belarus and Russia. He pointed out that this operation failed to destabilize Poland and Europe, but it created wide propaganda opportunities.

“The Kremlin has already used the mechanism of forced migration engineering and the attack on Poland, ongoing since 2021, shows the scale of challenges and threats for the entire Europe. Threats that are demanding, because they are not obvious. Fighting them depends on adequately identifying the real actions of the aggressor,” Żaryn wrote.

He added that it was obvious that Poland is not dealing not with a natural migration movement, but with a deliberate hybrid operation conducted by a foreign state. In his assessment, based on intelligence data, the migration route through Belarus is an operation managed by Russia.

“The Russians deliberately use foreigners to weaken Western countries. The operation to destabilize Europe has been discussed many times by Russian military experts and strategists. The assessment is clear – stimulated migration is an element of a hybrid war against the West,” Żaryn noted.

He also indicated that publicly available materials, e.g. by one of the Russian think tanks, suggest that Russia, wanting to weaken the West, should stimulate the migration process, because it is dangerous for the West.

Żaryn wrote that in the opinion of the authors of the study, Western society is the least adapted to real mobilization and opposition to a terrorist war. He mentioned experts from a Russian think tank, who suggested flooding Western cities with “professional intelligence officers and Eurasian terrorists” and waging “a well-coordinated, fierce terrorist war against the West.”

Last year, Poland built a barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border to prevent illegal migrants from crossing the border into Poland. The barrier was erected in response to the 2021 crisis when Poland experienced heightened migratory pressure with thousands of migrants trying to get into the country.