Poland mobilised forces after border sighting, Tusk says

Poland mobilised forces after border guards reported seeing people with torches at the country’s northern border with Russia, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on 3 November.

Tusk said he received the report shortly after midnight and that forces and resources were quickly sent to the area. He said a possible provocation had been prevented, if that was what the people had intended, but added that their intentions could not be fully confirmed.

He did not identify the individuals. It is unclear whether they had any connection to the Russian state. Poland’s northern border with Russia runs alongside Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave.

Tusk said Poland had already decided to deploy additional police and reinforce border guards and counter-terrorism units after receiving information about possible incidents in the first half of November, including a potential incursion by armed people.

A police spokesperson told the Associated Press that preventive measures were being carried out in the north-eastern regions of Warmia-Masuria and Podlaskie.