Belarus border crisis grows

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Guards watch migrants in Belarus from the Polish side of the border on Wednesday. Associated Press/Photo by Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA

European Union ambassadors agreed Wednesday to broaden sanctions against Belarus in retaliation for a growing migrant crisis on the country’s border with Poland. Belarus’ foreign minister called the move “political blackmail.” He said his country would seek a solution with help from its allies in Moscow.

What is the crisis? As many as 4,000 migrants are staying in makeshift camps on the border with Poland. Temperatures in the region dip well below freezing at night. Germany’s foreign minister accused Belarus on Wednesday of partnering with Russia to destabilize the West by encouraging migration. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said over the summer his country would no longer stop migrants from entering Europe. That move was widely seen as retaliation for sanctions imposed on his authoritarian regime last year. A UN spokeswoman accused both sides of using the migrants as pawns in a political game.

Dig deeper: Read Jenny Lind Schmitt’s 2020 report on Christians in Belarus protesting for change.

Leigh Jones

Leigh is features editor for WORLD. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate who spent six years as a newspaper reporter in Texas before joining WORLD News Group. Leigh also co-wrote Infinite Monster: Courage, Hope, and Resurrection in the Face of One of America's Largest Hurricanes. She resides with her husband and daughter in Houston, Texas.