Poland says it has completed a steel wall stretching along the border with Belarus to stop the flow of illegal migrants after tens of thousands, mostly from the Middle East, tried to enter the EU-member state from the Belarusian territory last year.
Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on June 30 that the construction of the 5.5 meter-high, 186 kilometer-long steel wall will "separate us from the bleak dictatorship of (Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr) Lukashenka," whom the West blames for funneling the influx of migrants.
Poland and other European Union states say Lukashenka orchestrated the migrant crisis along with his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in retaliation for sanctions imposed on him and his regime for a brutal crackdown on dissent after mass protests over a disputed August 2020 presidential election handed Lukashenka a sixth term in power.
Poland had set up a no-access zone at the border, which expires on June 30, banning nonresidents, including migrants, aid workers, and media from the area. The emergency order will not be renewed.
At least 12 people died at the Polish-Belarusian border, where migrants and refugees faced harsh, freezing conditions during the winter.