
Poland to build wire fence along border amid fears Russia planning migrant influx from Kaliningrad
The Polish government today announced the construction of a 130-mile razor-wire fence along the border with Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad to prevent illegal crossings.
Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced the decision amid concerns in Warsaw that Russia plans to orchestrate an influx of migrants.
‘The airport in Kaliningrad is now accepting flights from the Middle East and North Africa. I decided to take action to enhance the security of the Polish border,’ Blaszczak told reporters.
‘Already today work will begin… on a temporary barrier’ along the 130-mile border, he added.
He said the razor-wire fence will be 8ft high and 10ft wide, and will also feature an electronic monitoring system and cameras.

Kaliningrad airport is accepting flights from the Middle East and North Africa. Polish authorities said they are concerned Russia is planning to encourage migrants to head to Poland to destabilise the country

Polish soldiers install barbed wire along Polish border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, near Zerdziny village, north-eastern Poland, 02 November 2022

Polish defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak, pictured at a NATO meeting, announced a razor wire fence to enforce security along the country’s border with the Russian enclave
Poland already built a steel wall last year along its border with Russian ally Belarus after a migrant influx there.
Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, mostly from the Middle East, have crossed or attempted to cross into Poland from Belarus since 2021.
Poland’s border guard and NGOs on site continue to report dozens of attempted illegal crossings there on a daily basis.
The West believes the influx was orchestrated by Minsk to destabilise the region, a charge denied by the Belarusian regime.
Poland sent thousands of troops and police officers to reinforce border guard patrols at the height of the crisis and approved a law allowing migrants to be forced back into Belarus.
The so-called pushbacks, and the government’s overall tough anti-migration stance, drew condemnation from activists and aid organisations.
In 2021, thousands of migrants flown into Belarus attempted to cross the border with Poland.
Lithuania already has a fence along its border with Russia in Vistytis.
The existing fence skirts the Suwalki Gap, a stretch of land along the Lithuanian and Polish border between Kaliningrad and Russia-loyal Belarus, which is thought to be an important chokepoint into Europe by Russian strategists.
The news comes after four Russian fighter jets were intercepted after taking off from Kaliningrad and forced to return to base after they infringed on Polish air space in early October.
Reports came that the jets also infringed on Swedish airspace. Poland is a long-time member of NATO having joined in 1999, while Sweden earlier this year applied for membership to the security bloc alongside Nordic neighbour Finland.

Migrants aiming to cross into Poland are seen in a camp near the Bruzgi-Kuznica border crossing on the Belarusian-Polish border on November 17, 2021

Lithuania already has a fence along its border with Russia. It runs along the Lithuanian border with the Kaliningrad enclave
Footage shows 100 Russian recruits mutiny and refuse to be sent to Ukraine after learning £4,200 lump sum they were promised has NOT been paid to their families
By Will Stewart for MailOnline
A mutiny ignited in Ulyanovsk after more than 100 mobilised Russians refused to be sent to the frontline to fight against Ukraine, footage shows.
The troops revolted because Vladimir Putin’s officials failed to pay a ‘promised’ payment of £4,200 to their families in the impoverished Chuvashia region, they claimed.
A female military officer is earlier seen remonstrating with the uniformed men, amid reports that national guards and OMON riot police were called in to suppress the insubordination.
The officer tells them: ‘Guys, I didn’t promise you 300,000 [roubles].’
‘It’s clear – we were f***ing fooled,’ said one mutineer.

The money was meant to go to their families in the impoverished Chuvashia region. ‘It’s clear – we were f***ing fooled,’ said one mutineer as the female officer tries to address their concerns

More than 100 mobilised Russians are refusing to be sent to Ukraine’s frontline because officials failed to give their families a ‘promised’ payment equalling £4,200. A female military officer is seen remonstrating with the uniformed men
The incident reportedly followed an earlier failed attempt to pacify the furious recruits by army officers.
us recruits by army officers.
The military unit was undergoing training in Ulyanovsk before they are due to be sent to the front.
The General Staff of Ukraine has previously said that Russian private military companies were conscripting inmates from prisons in the city to fight in the war.
Critics say the call-up is sending men as cannon fodder to the front, but thousands have been lured by promises of payments far higher than their usual salaries.
‘I came here from Moscow,’ said one enlisted reservist in the mutiny, furious that money did not reach his family. ‘Because this is the Motherland, and the President appealed to us all.’
He declared: ‘When I came to the enlistment office, the military commissar told me “As soon as you get there, there will be a one time payment of 300,000 roubles [£4,200] within two, three days…”‘
The money was meant to go to their families in the impoverished Chuvashia region, but it never arrived.
Mobilised men are heard demanding: ‘Who fooled us?’
Others said, ‘Its hopeless’ adding: ‘Why are we even here?’
The female military officer tells them that the promise of an advance payment was in a draft law by the Communist Party, and was not ratified.
One recruit hits back: ‘They should give back their party IDs and go themselves then…’
This is when a man is heard saying: ‘It’s clear we were f***ing fooled.’
Another clip shows what appears to be the same soldiers taking to the streets in the night and chanting slogans.
‘Dear, citizens of the Russian Federation, mobilised servicemen of the Chuvash Republic appeal to you!
‘We are risking our lives to die for your safety and your peaceful life!’
An open letter from the men also emerged with a different figure for the sum they had not been paid.
‘Our state refuses to pay us the sum of 195,000 [£2,750] roubles which we were promised by our President Vladimir Putin!
‘Why then would we go to war for this state, leaving our families without support?
‘We refuse to participate in the Special Military Operation and will seek justice until we are paid the money promised by our government headed by the President of the Russian Federation!’
Unconfirmed reports say the uprising has been crushed by Putin’s forces.