Recently, a joint exercise was conducted by Belarus and Russian paratroopers near the Polish and Lithuanian borders.
The exercise ended with a stalemate over migration camping in the border jungles between Belarus and the European Union.
Background
Protests have been raging in Belarus for months since the August 2020 elections, when dictatorial President Alexander Lukashenko offered a sixth term.
The opposition and the West Countries rejected the result as a fraud.
Belarusian authorities launched a crackdown on protesters, arresting more than 35,000 people and wounding thousands more.
The European Union and the United States responded by imposing sanctions on the Belarussian government.
In May 2021, a passenger jet was forcibly deported by Belarus and an opposition journalist was handled for arrest under an act denounced by Western authorities as "state piracy" (where the state is involved) following sanctions. It was made stronger.
The Belarussian government responded by saying that it would no longer abide by the agreement to stop illegal immigration, arguing that the EU had deprived its government of the funds it needed through sanctions to stop the flow of migrants.
This will prevent undocumented migrants and refugees from trying to enter the EU.
Belarus' opposition has called on the European Union to take "tougher measures", including a trade embargo and a ban on cargo shipments by Belarus.
Although the Belarussian government has threatened to cut off Russian gas supplies from Belarus to Europe via pipelines, Russia appears to be distancing itself from the threat.
The Current Crisis
Poland is a member of the European Union.
Poland has a right-wing populist law and justice party (PiS) regime that is hostile to immigrants.
Thousands of Middle Eastern migrants are camping on the Polish border, with women and children among the cold-stricken migrants.
The government in Poland is also not allowing supplies to aid agencies. It violates the United Nations Convention, 1951 or the Refugee Convention.
Russia's Support
Belarus has strong support from its main ally Russia, which has helped Lukashenko's government with loans and political support.
Russia says the influx of migrants into Iraq and Afghanistan was triggered by US-led wars and a Western-backed Arab Spring uprising in the Middle East and North Africa.
Russia has sent two strategic, long-range Tu-22M3 bombers to patrol the border area in response to construction work carried out by the Polish military on its border with Belarus.
Russia has also blamed the EU for the migration crisis, arguing that the main reason for the crisis was the EU's refusal to accept refugees.
European Union - EU Side
The European Union has shown strong solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. EU officials are expected to discuss a second round of sanctions against Belarus.
The European Union (EU) has accused Belarus of carrying out a "hybrid attack" on the bloc by thousands of migrants, mainly flying from West Asia and trying to cross the border into Poland illegally.
Belarus's neighbors have expressed concern that the crisis could escalate into a military confrontation.
However, Belarus has also refused to encourage the flow of migrants, saying that the EU is violating the rights of migrants and depriving them of a safe passage.
Global Response
Western members of the UN Security Council have condemned Belarus for the growing crisis of migrants stranded on the Polish border.
The United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are working to ensure immediate and unhindered access to the European Union to resolve the situation immediately and provide humanitarian assistance.
Future Steps
With the EU imposing further sanctions on Belarus and Poland to keep migrants out, Belarus is unwilling to take action to help migrants camping in forests without food or water and to help the future of thousands of migrants. It depends on this.
The EU, for its part, should stop its blind declarations of solidarity with Poland and pressurize the government, with the help of international organizations, to take immediate action for a humanitarian solution on the border.
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