As of December 10, Poland has extended the operation of the buffer zone along its border with Belarus for an additional 90 days, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced.
The ministry emphasized that the temporary restriction on access to the buffer zone has proven effective. Over the six months of its implementation, the number of illegal border crossings has decreased by 41%.
Between June 13 and December 5 this year, nearly 11,200 attempts at illegal border crossings were recorded. In comparison, during the same period before the zone’s introduction, there were over 19,000 such attempts, the statement noted.
Additionally, from the beginning of the year to December 5, Polish border guards charged 585 individuals with organizing or facilitating illegal migration. Among them were 274 Ukrainian nationals, 82 Poles, 50 Belarusians and 30 Georgians. Preventive detention measures were applied to 153 of the accused.
The buffer zone, introduced on June 13, 2024, covers approximately 60 kilometers along the Polish-Belarusian border. In a 44.5-kilometer section, access to the border zone is restricted up to 200 meters deep, while in a 16.1-kilometer section, it extends up to 2 kilometers.
In September, Polish border authorities reported that after the establishment of the buffer zone, the number of attempts to illegally cross the border decreased by 64%.
