Russia has 'nothing to do with' Poland-Belarus border crisis, Putin insists

The migrants -- most of whom are from the Middle East and Asia, and who're hoping to journey on from Poland deeper into Europe -- have been gathering on the Belarusian facet of the border, the place they're enduring bitter climate and an absence of meals and medical consideration.

"Our aviation companies are not transporting these people. None of our companies are."Putin added that Lukashenko additionally claimed not to have any kind of involvement by way of Belarus' nationwide airline, Belavia."By the way, Belavia, as Alexander Grigorievich [Lukashenko] told me, is not transporting them either. They book charters, it's a visa-free entry -- people buy tickets and fly in. Yes, there are certain groups engaged in transporting these people to European countries, but they have been operating for a long time," Putin mentioned.Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei mentioned Friday that the Belarusian facet was doing all the pieces doable to cut back the stream of migrants.Meanwhile, Poland has deployed 15,000 troopers to the border to forestall unlawful crossings, the Polish protection minister mentioned Wednesday. Some 4,500 folks have tried to cross the border for the reason that begin of this month, in accordance to the Polish Border Guard.The Polish Border Guard on Saturday accused Belarusian authorities of equipping migrants with tear fuel."A group of about 100 migrants waited for the possibility of illegal border crossing. Belarusians equipped foreigners with tear gas, which was used towards the Polish services. This and subsequent attempts to illegally cross [the border] were prevented," the border guard mentioned by way of Twitter. No pictures or video got to present proof for the allegations.The border guard additionally repeated its declare that Belarusian authorities have been utilizing lasers and strobe lights towards Polish safety companies on the border, and accused Belarusian troopers of damaging a border fence close to the Polish city of Czeremcha.Each facet has accused the opposite of spreading misinformation because the disaster has unfolded.

Syrian man discovered useless

Meanwhile, hundreds of individuals stay caught between Poland and Belarus in circumstances the United Nations has referred to as "catastrophic." Desperate scenes of starvation and hypothermia are enjoying out in forests and at makeshift camps on the border because the geopolitical dispute intensifies.

Belarusian State Border Committee officers informed CNN on Friday the migrant camp close to the Bruzgi-Kuznica border crossing with Poland was anticipated to double in measurement inside every week if the refugee disaster stays unresolved.About 2,000 persons are at the moment ready within the border area however a whole bunch proceed to present up day by day, officers informed CNN, and Belarusian state border officers estimate that determine will improve to 5,000 inside every week. The physique of a younger Syrian man was discovered Friday within the woods close to the Poland-Belarus border shut to Wólka Terechowska, about 80 miles to the south of Kuznica, in accordance to a tweet from the Polish police."The activities carried out in the place where the body was found did not allow for an unequivocal determination of the cause of death," the police mentioned.Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski on Saturday referred to as the rising disaster an "attack" on the European Union, of which Poland is a member state."We are dealing with an attack on the entire European Union using an artificially created migration crisis. It is about creating an East European migration route. Everyone knows that -- both in Europe and in the USA," he posted on Twitter.Kaminski added that he'd spoken to his German counterpart, Horst Seehofer, who Kaminski mentioned had supplied his help on the development of a border wall.US President Joe Biden informed reporters Friday night time that the state of affairs on the Belarus-Poland border was of "great concern.""We've communicated our concern to Russia. We've communicated our concern to Belarus. We think it's a problem," Biden mentioned.

Military buildup

Neighboring Ukraine can also be scaling up safety. On Thursday, it introduced it could maintain army drills with some 8,500 servicemen and 15 helicopters in an space close to its borders with Poland and Belarus to counter a possible migrant disaster.

The present of pressure unfolding throughout the area is continuous to check a fragile political order, with allegations from the United States on Russia's army buildup deepening issues over the potential for a wider geopolitical disaster.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Wednesday that the US was "concerned by reports of unusual Russian military activity" and talked about the likelihood that Russia could also be "attempting to rehash" its 2014 invasion of Ukraine.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit again on the allegations on Friday, saying that they represented an "empty, groundless escalation of tensions."In flip, Putin criticized "unscheduled" NATO drills within the Black Sea within the Russia 24 interview aired Saturday."It seems that they are simply keeping us on our toes. Well, they should know that we are on our toes," Putin mentioned."The United States and its NATO allies are now conducting unscheduled -- I want to emphasize -- unscheduled exercises in the Black Sea. Not only a fairly powerful naval group has been formed, but aviation is also used in the course of these exercises, including strategic aviation," Putin mentioned. "This is a serious challenge for us."