The Polish border guard announced it has completed the first sections of its barrier on the Belarus border as the government has stated that it will be ending its state of emergency in the area on July 1st.
The Polish Border Guard announced on Sunday on the social media platform Twitter that the first sections of the border barrier between Poland and Belarus have been completed and that the current barrier extends to around 87 miles or 140 kilometres.
The Border Guard added that the installation of an electronic barrier would also be completed in the coming days.
Poland began construction of the border barrier, which is expected to reach 115 miles once completed and is expected to cost the country 1.6 billion Polish zloty (£350 million, $395m), in January and is planned to be fully completed by the end of this month.
The Polish government has also announced that it will be ending the state of emergency in the border region with Belarus once the barrier is completed, setting a date for July 1st to end the state of emergency, which has been ongoing since summer 2021.
The border barrier is being built in reaction to the surge in illegal crossing attempts from Belarus that began last summer as many accused Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko of purposely allowing migrants to the border and even forcing them to cross into Poland and other EU countries that border his nation.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke out against President Lukashenko last November saying, “Over the weeks, we have provided ample evidence that it is the Belarusian regime that is bringing migrants to the border in order to transport these people, then, to Western Europe. Today, the target is Poland, but tomorrow it will be Germany, Belgium, France, or Spain.”
“This is just the beginning. The dictators will not stop. I want to assure you, Poland will not yield to blackmail and will do everything to stop the evil threatening Europe,” he added.