Poland has sent police units to its border near Russia's Kaliningrad exclave because of the threat of armed incursion by Moscow, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said. Tusk told a government meeting on Tuesdy that the deployment was ordered following information received overnight that "disturbing movement had been observed on the Polish-Russian border." Tusk said that overnight "individuals with flashlights" were spotted in the border area and that intelligence suggested that "in the first half of November events could occur, including armed incursions" into Polish territory. Polish national police chief Marek Boroń had earlier told the news outlet RMF FM that authorities had received intelligence warnings about possible sabotage activities.
The move follows warnings by Poland and its NATO neighbors that Moscow was stepping up hybrid warfare efforts in the region with acts below the threshold of war that could test the alliance's resolve. Newsweek has contacted the Polish and Russian foreign ministries for comment. Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave, meaning that it is geographically separated from the main territory of the country.
Located on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania, its strategic position between NATO and EU members makes it a likely flash point for any future clashes between Moscow and the alliance. Last month, reported that Russia had sent NATO a document that said it would use nuclear weapons if the alliance enforced a blockade of Kaliningrad, warning of the "high risks of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict." The construction of a towering radar complex is almost complete in Kaliningrad, according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), citing satellite imagery and security experts. The suspected over-the-horizon (OTH) radar could have a surveillance range of over 1,800 miles, according to retired Lithuanian military commander Vaidotas Malinionis.
Moscow was not mentioned directly by Boroń who told the news outlet RMF FM on Monday of intelligence warnings that sabotage activities could take place near Kaliningrad, including violations of the border by armed groups. That is why Poland is securing the border area with guards and intelligence services officers in the Warmian-Masurian and Podlaskie regions of northeastern Poland. A special command center has also been set up at the National Police Headquarters, with officers deployed from several regions.
Boroń said the beefed-up security aimed to protect residents and infrastructure from sabotage and the activities of foreign intelligence services. "The police are securing the Königsberg (Kaliningrad) region in terms of possible events that could lead to acts of sabotage," Boroń said, according to a translation. "That is why reinforcements from police headquarters from several provinces arrived at the border," he added.
Many incidents near NATO’s eastern flank have been linked to Moscow. For example, on 23 September, a Russian Mi‑8 helicopter briefly crossed into Polish territory from Kaliningrad. Most recently, an unidentified object entered Latvian airspace on Sunday, sparking an air raid warning and the deployment of a BLAZE interceptor drone.
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