The Polish authorities have begun to install anti-tank hedgehogs on the border with Belarus. This was announced on Twitter by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Polish Government, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.
“In February, the construction of security structures on the border with the Kaliningrad region began. Today the army has started building fortifications on the border with Belarus. This is part of our defense and deterrence strategy,” he wrote.
Błaszczak accompanied the publication with photographs showing how Polish soldiers were installing anti-tank hedgehogs and concrete “dragon’s teeth”. The images were taken on the roadway in front of the border barriers.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian foreign ministry said the construction of a fence by Poland on the border of the two countries threatens the population of European bison. According to a post on the department’s Facebook page (property of Meta*), about 1,400 of these mammals live in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
“An artificial fence will inevitably lead to the isolation of population groups and the depletion of the gene pool of bison, as the genetically most vulnerable species,” the Belarusian foreign ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted a letter from anonymous European biologists saying that “as a barrier, the wall will lead to the isolation of habitats in the western and eastern parts of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, which will prevent the movement of many animal species and the flow of their genes.”
The neighboring countries of Belarus decided to isolate themselves from the republic by fences after the migration crisis that broke out at the end of 2021. Then, thousands of refugees from the Middle East tried to break through from Belarusian territory towards Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia in order to enter the European Union. The West has accused Minsk of using illegal immigrants as a hybrid weapon. Lithuania completed the construction of a border protection fence in August 2022, and Poland – in October. Furthermore, in November, the Polish authorities announced the construction of a “temporary” barrier at the border with the Kaliningrad region.
