The main nonsubjective is to seal the border and thus minimise the hazard of illegal migration. As of 7 July at border crossings with Germany and Lithuania appeared supported by the military Border Guard. The patrols have besides gone into the field. What does their ministry look like? We accompanied them and observed their activities around Szczecin.
West border under the control of Border defender and the Army.
We're turning from asphalt into wood. The first verteps will shortly appear on the beaten ground road, and pine - covered hills give way to swamp sites. Heading ahead, the area Ford slows down and virtually squeezes into centimeters between a bush wall and a fallen tree. We're in West Pomerania, somewhere between Dobeshczyn and fresh Warpn. We joined the Border defender patrol. We want to see for ourselves what the work supported by the army of services has been like since the temporary checks on the Polish border with Germany were restored.
Peace at the Pass
Until recently, the movement between the 2 countries was carried out without any restrictions. Germany broke out first. In October 2023 they introduced random checks at erstwhile border crossing points. Objective: to prevent illegal migration. On 7 July at midnight Poland decided to make the same move. The anticipation of legally crossing the border has been limited to 52 points. akin warnings were introduced by the authorities on the Polish-Lithuanian border. The Border Guard, supported by the military, appeared on closed border crossings for years. This is the case, among others, in the vicinity of Szczecin. – The dimension of the border in the Zachodniopomorskie voivodship is 170 km. It can be crossed in 19 places – says Lt. Catherine Przybysz, spokesperson for the Marine Border defender Branch, who is liable for this episode. But before we get to a fewer of them, we're going to the Szczecin SG facility.
It's early afternoon. Before the point of issue – queue. Gun, magazine, teardrop gas container, handcuffs, walkie-talkie, respective another items – receipt, next. A gun, a magazine, a teardrop gas container... etc. After a while, SG officers are already in the briefing room. They are accompanied by soldiers of the Military Gendarmerie. – The most crucial thing – safety. Take care of yourselves and your colleagues. We control the drivers, but we besides pay attention to those who leave – explains Colonel Zbigniew Pałka, the commander of the local facility. He's talking about a fresh migration route. It leads from Belarus, via Lithuania, straight to Poland and further to Germany. “Beware of cars with registration from outside the voivodship,” the officer emphasizes. Behind his back hangs a large-scale map with a charted pattern of actions. Guards and soldiers are assigned to individual teams. Moments later, they are in front of the building, getting into the cars and going to the indicated sections to loosen the erstwhile shift. And we'll follow them.
First halt – Dobieszczyn. A tiny passage by the Provincial Road No. 115. It's about 30 km to Szczecin. The first village on the German side is Hintersee, but from here you can't see it. There is simply a forest around – silence, peace. The existence of the border is reminded only of signs and 2 pillars with emblems – white-red and black-red-yellow. After a while from the German side the car is coming. He is detained by a territorial defence soldier and then inspected by an SG officer. This 1 asks the driver and passengers for papers authorising crossing the border – identity cards or passports. utilizing the mobile portal, it checks them in the system, then looks in the trunk. It takes possibly 2 minutes. In the case of subsequent vehicles, the procedure shall be repeated. – Generally, checks are random, although at the passages where traffic is less, we control all car. We pay peculiar attention to larger vehicles, due to the fact that in specified vehicles it is easier to hide people smuggled. In general, however, we have not had specified cases so far – admits Captain SG Piotr Sierocki, who during this change proves guards placed on respective close crossings.
As commanding officer, he travels between different stations. He collects information, see if officers and soldiers request backup. Each specified pass is besides an chance to illustrate the side roads and surrounding forests. There are more like patrols. due to the fact that as of 7 July, the service and the military are besides guarding the green border. A minute later, we get into 1 of the 2 cars and get off the asphalt road.
Patrol on green
Initially, the ride goes smoothly. Then the cars slow down and laboriously beat the mud-filled holes. Our offroad lasts almost half an hour. yet we park on a cross-border bike path. We'll go on foot. The forest gives way to a vast meadow, which flows through the river. Both sides bind a tiny bridge. But now it has been densely taped – there is no passage. WOT soldiers set up a shelter nearby. They keep the guards, but there's peace here too. Nobody's trying to push the border. A fewer minutes earlier he wanted to walk through here, but they turned him around. erstwhile we talk like this, a cyclist appears on the German side. He's standing on the bridge looking around. – Gentlemen... why don't you let me go? – he speaks Polish. I didn't know you couldn't... I've done 100 kilometres today... – he adds. The requests and suggestions, however, do not seem to work. "In specified situations, unfortunately, we gotta turn people back to the nearest border crossing. The rules are regulations – Captain Orrocki admits. So the biker has to add at least a fewer more to a 100 kilometers.
Meanwhile, 15 minutes later we're back in the cars and we're moving through the woods. However, we do not encounter anyone. And there's no sign of any sign of anyone trying to cross the border illegally. shortly we are back on the provincial road and heading for the next checkpoint.
West border under the control of Border defender and the Army.
In Russia, traffic is already much bigger. This is 1 of the largest border crossings in Western Pomerania. Here the Border defender cooperates primarily with the Military Gendarmery. 1 of the soldiers controls the movement. The selected cars pass the main route, the others steer the detour, the adjacent parking lot and the side road. The first will be inspected, the second can go further. respective cars are placed on a separate section. Among them are guards: “Good morning... Can I have your papers, please? Open the trunk... Thank you, you can go” and suddenly... is. The driver of the utilized Golf with the German registration explains something there, pulls out papers, but the controller tells him to pull over on the side lane. The discussion lasts for a short while, yet the car turns around. The gentlemen had no papers essential to cross the border. They tried to identify themselves with a photocopy of the evidence and a license, which is not enough. They were asked to return. If they come to the border again, with the first documents, they will be let through – explains the lieutenant. A visitor.
Finally, our last halt – the crossing of Lubieszyn-Linken. They are only a fewer minutes distant from Szczecin by car. There's quite a few traffic here, too. There are cars on Polish, German numbers and an SUV from Norway. There's no traffic. Here. Border Guards can number on territorial assistance. Soldiers assist officers, besides patrol adjacent paths and cross-border cycling. The cooperation is going well. I feel like we are doing something useful, and at the same time I hope that this situation will not last long – admits Kamil, Private WOT.
Syrian without passport
About a 1000 soldiers are active in sealing the western border. Among them are respective 100 territorials. “These are soldiers of the 4 brigades of OT – 12 Wielkopolska, 14 West Pomeranian, 15 Lubuska and 16 Lower Silesian – says Captain Tomasz Kozłowski, press officer Safe West operations. For us, serving on the border is not a fresh experience. The Border defender and linear units of the army are besides supported in the east, although of course the situation is diametrically different there – he adds.
During the first 9 days of operations, the Border defender in Western Pomerania itself inspected a full of 53,000 people and 23,000 vehicles. Only 1 man was denied entry to Poland. – He was a Syrian who tried to cross the border in Świnoujście. However, he did not have a passport. He had only a German permanent residence card, and this, unfortunately, was not adequate – he admits. A visitor. There was besides a case of parents with a kid – Germans who entered Poland for tourist purposes. Their car was inspected by a flying patrol, a fewer kilometres from the border. It turns out adults don't have a paper on them confirming the identity of the child. They were returned to the border under the escort of the Military Police.
West border under the control of Border defender and the Army.
The SG officers and soldiers agree that although it is peaceful around Szczecin, it is more likely that illegal migrants will effort to get from Poland to Germany, not the another way around. But there's something else. Shortly before the introduction of controls on social media, information began to circulate, which indicated that the German Border defender was dropping illegal migrants to Poland. As a consequence of the crossings, patrols of the self-appointed Border defence Movement appeared. Their members were to halt and control cars entering Poland, which they had no right to do. Representatives of the Polish authorities assured that any specified information would be examined in item while denying that the phenomenon was of a mass nature. Restoring control was expected to calm the situation. "German services are obliged to apply the readmission procedure in order to give us illegal migrants. They must prove that these people got into German territory from Poland. If specified a request is not decently documented, we may not accept specified a person," explains the lieutenant. A visitor.
There are comparatively fewer specified cases as the Border defender provides. According to statistic late published by “Rzeczpospolita” from 1 January to 31 March of that year, the number of readmissions reached 170. In turn, last year Germany transferred 690 people to Poland. More migrants have returned from the border. According to the “Politics” reported by the weekly national Police, in 2024 there were 9,3 1000 specified cases.
Temporary border checks with Germany and Lithuania are to take place until 5 August. However, they may be extended.
