Belarus Weaponizing Migrants to Retaliate Against EU Sanctions

MINSK – A covert program orchestrated by the Belarusian government planned by Belarus government to encourage illegal immigration into Europe for undermining purposes has caught the eye of authorities after certain sensitive conversations between senior officials were leaked. The initiative, reportedly designed to destabilize the EU, has resulted in the deaths of at least 120 people along Belarus’ borders with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, according to human rights group Human Constanta.

Intercepted phone calls, documents, and testimonies obtained by POLITICO reveal how Belarusian authorities worked with state-controlled travel agencies and hotels to streamline the arrival and transit of migrants. These migrants, primarily from Africa and the Middle East, were encouraged to cross into the EU illegally. A recorded phone call from May 2021 shows Mikhail Bedunkevich, a senior Interior Ministry official, advising police not to interfere with migrants “in transit to Europe.”

The operation began in spring 2021, shortly after the EU imposed sanctions on Belarus for suppressing mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko’s fraudulent 2020 reelection. In retaliation, Lukashenko declared Belarus would no longer prevent the flow of migrants and narcotics across its borders.

Rights groups have condemned the humanitarian toll of the crisis, with Polish and EU border guards facing allegations of illegally pushing back migrants. Poland plans to seal its border with Belarus this summer to halt the influx.

Belarusian border guard Aleh, speaking to POLITICO, called the program “Lukashenko’s revenge for the imposition of sanctions,” warning it will persist as long as the EU remains focused on human rights abuses within Belarus.

Lukashenko, seeking a seventh term in office with elections on January 26, has denied weaponizing migration. In 2021, he dismissed accusations, challenging critics to present evidence.

The crisis has exposed the EU’s vulnerability to hybrid warfare tactics, with Belarus using migration to exploit political divides. Meanwhile, the human cost of the program continues to mount, leaving both migrants and EU border states grappling with the fallout.

Keep reading questiqa.com & questiqa.com questiqaus.com