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Ukrainian border guards during an exercise near the border with Belarus a few days ago
Photo: GLEB GARANICH / REUTERS
According to its ambassador in Germany, Ukraine fears that refugees could be sent from the border between Belarus and Poland to the Ukrainian border.
"There is a risk that smuggled migrants will be diverted from the Belarusian-Polish border to the border with Ukraine," Andrij Melnyk told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Kiev has therefore sent more than 8,500 police officers, national guards and border guards to the border region.
"This is just the beginning," said Melnyk.
“A state of emergency may also be declared.
We are prepared for anything. "
The border between Ukraine and Belarus is more than a thousand kilometers long and consists of swamps and forests that are difficult to control.
"We are concerned that this area can be used for possible provocations," said Melnyk.
The current crisis is being staged by the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko and the Russian President Vladimir Putin "in order to conceal the military activities of Russia off the eastern border of Ukraine and in Donbas," added the ambassador with regard to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Thousands of people are currently stuck in Belarus in freezing temperatures, especially on the border with the EU member state Poland.
Brussels accuses Lukashenko of deliberately smuggling refugees into the EU in order to retaliate against sanctions adopted by Europeans.
Poland's Prime Minister fears the conflict with
Belarus will
escalate
Because of the conflict on the border between Belarus and Poland, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) flies to Warsaw on Thursday.
There he wants to hold talks with the Polish government.
On Wednesday, Seehofer spoke of a “perfidious approach” by Belarus to bring refugees into the country and “transport them on” to the EU and Germany.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki fears that the conflict with Belarus will escalate.
"The situation is currently stable, but it is becoming more and more threatening," he told the "Bild" newspaper.
"I hope everyone keeps their cool."
The Belarusian forces are provoking more and more, Morawiecki said in the interview.
“I hope you don't take that one step too far.
Because we Poles are determined to protect our border by all means.
The eastern border of Europe and also of NATO. "
When asked whether there was a threat of war, Morawiecki said: "We cannot rule anything out."
Morawiecki sharply criticized the refugee policy of the federal government under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
When asked whether Merkel had failed in this area of politics, Morawiecki replied: “Oh, absolutely.
I think politics from five to six years ago were not adequate politics.
It endangered the sovereignty of many European states and created an artificial multiculturalism.
That was a dangerous policy for Europe and for the world. "
aar / AFP
