Poland lays razor wire on border with Russia’s Kaliningrad

WARSAW, Poland — Polish soldiers began laying razor wire Wednesday along Poland’s border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad after the government ordered the construction of a barrier to prevent what it fears could become another migration crisis.

Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said a recent decision by Russia’s aviation authority to launch flights from the Middle East and North Africa to Kaliningrad led him to take the step, which he said would strengthen Poland’s security.

Blaszczak said the barrier along the 210-kilometer (130-miles) border would be made of three rows of razor wire that will be 2½ meters (eight feet) high and three meters (10 feet) wide and with an electronic monitoring system and cameras. On the Polish side, a fence will keep animals away from the razor wire.

The chief executive of the Khrabrovo airport in Kaliningrad, Alexander Korytnyi, told Russia’s Interfax news agency on Oct. 3 that his airport would seek to “attract airlines from countries in the Persian Gulf and Asia,” including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Blaszczak described the airport’s plans as “disturbing.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined Wednesday to comment on the border barrier, describing it as “a Polish matter.”

Soldiers began laying the razor wire in the Polish village of Wisztyniec, a local Border Guard spokeswoman, Miroslawa Aleksandrowicz, told Polish state news agency PAP.

Wisztyniec is a village where the borders of Poland, Russia and Lithuania meet. Lithuania, like Poland, is a member of both NATO and the European Union.

“The barrier will be built is several places as the same time,” Aleksandrowicz said.

There were no detected attempts to cross into Poland illegally from Kaliningrad in October, Aleksandrowicz said.

To date, there has been no barrier along the border, but only frequent patrols by border guards, another Border Guard spokesperson, Konrad Szwed said.

The exclave of Kaliningrad, with a population of about 1 million, is the northern part of what used to be the German territory of East Prussia and became part of the Soviet Union after World War II.

It is home to the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy and also an industrial center. Seaside dunes and resorts, what’s left of the old Prussian architecture in the city of Kaliningrad, and maritime and amber museums are among the tourist attractions.

Poland’s border with Belarus became the site of a major migration crisis last year, with large numbers of people crossing illegally. Poland erected a steel wall on the border with Belarus that was completed in June.

Polish and other EU leaders accused the Belarusian government — which is allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin — of masterminding the migration in order to create chaos and division within the 27-nation bloc.

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