British troops sent to Poland to assist with Belarus border situation

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said a “small team” of armed forces personnel have been deployed to Poland “to address the ongoing situation at the Belarus border”.

In a statement, the MoD said: “The UK and Poland have a long history of friendship and are Nato allies. A small team of UK armed forces personnel have deployed following an agreement with the Polish government to explore how we can provide engineering support to address the ongoing situation at the Belarus border.”

The PA Media news agency understands that the deployment is limited to providing engineering support. The statement comes amid tensions over an influx of migrants at the border between Poland and Belarus.

Nato has said it “strongly condemns” the “irregular migration artificially created by Belarus”, amid tensions at the border with Poland.

In a statement, Nato said: “The North Atlantic Council strongly condemns the continued instrumentalisation of irregular migration artificially created by Belarus as part of hybrid actions targeted against Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia for political purposes.

“These callous actions endanger the lives of vulnerable people. Nato allies stand in solidarity with Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and other allied nations affected, and support measures, guided by fundamental values and applicable international law, taken by allies individually and collectively, in response to a situation that requires close coordination with key international partners.

“We will remain vigilant against the risk of further escalation and provocation by Belarus at its borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, and will continue to monitor the implications for the security of the alliance. Nato allies call on Belarus to cease these actions, to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to abide by international law.”

Share this post