Poland: Soldier dies after knife attack on Belarus border
June 6, 2024
A Polish soldier who was stabbed on the country's border with Belarus in May has died from his injuries, Poland's military announced on Thursday.
It said the soldier was allegedly stabbed in the chest by a migrant who reached through a fence erected on the border to prevent illegal crossings.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Belarusian charge de'affaires, demanding Minsk authorities hand over the soldier's killer.
Poland and the EU claim many of the migrants attempting to cross into the country are organized and aided by Russia and its ally Belarus as part of an attempt destabilize Europe.
The perpetrator of the attack has yet to be identified.
Polish prime minister offers condolences
"A young soldier, Mateusz, gave his life defending the border of the Republic of Poland," Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"The motherland and his compatriots will never forget about this sacrifice. I extend words of deepest sympathy to his family."
Following the stabbing in May, Warsaw announced it would spend more than €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) on strengthening its eastern border and would reintroduce a 200-meter (656-foot) buffer zone.
"It is the Russian state ... that is behind the organization of the recruitment, transport and attempts to smuggle thousands of people into Europe," Tusk said in the immediate aftermath of stabbing.
In 2022, Poland erected a 5.5-meter-high fence and an electronic surveillance system. But according to the Polish Border Guard, there have already been more than 17,000 attempted crossings in the first five months of 2024.
Soldiers charged over different border incident
Separately, on Wednesday, a media report revealed that two Polish soldiers had been charged over another incident in March.
The soldiers are said to have fired warning shots, first into the air and then at the ground, at migrants trying to force their way across the border.
No one was injured and government officials expressed their dismay and belief that the arrests were an excessive measure given the circumstances.
Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the military police overreacted and has demanded clarification from them and from the prosecutors who are investigating.
In response, prosecutors said on Thursday that footage from the shooting did not show the soldiers being in a life-threatening situation.
km/nm (dpa, AP, AFP)