Poland started building a barbed-wire fence on its 210-kilometer (130-mile) border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region to prevent the Kremlin from sending asylum-seekers into the country, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said.
With the airport in Kaliningrad open to flights from North Africa and the Middle East, Poland sees the risk of another migration crisis, similar to what happened with Belarus last year, he told reporters in north-eastern Poland, near the border with the Russian exclave. The barrier will be 2 1/2 meters tall (8 feet), with three layers of concertina wire, and work will start as early as Wednesday, according to the minister.
“We want the border to be tight,” said Blaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister. “We use the experience gained last year, because there is no doubt that this barrier, this temporary barrier protected the Polish-Belarusian border and prevented a hybrid attack from Belarusian territory.”
