Poland has deployed significant police forces and strengthened its Border Guard along the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad following what Prime Minister Donald Tusk described as an attempted Russian provocation.
Speaking on November 3, Tusk said that shortly after midnight he received information from the Border Guard near Kaliningrad that individuals were moving with flashlights from the Russian side. "We quickly mobilised the appropriate forces and resources there and managed to prevent any attempted provocation," he said.
Mobilisation in Response to Intelligence
Tusk added that after receiving information that events could occur in the first half of November, including armed incursions into Polish territory, the government decided to send significant police forces and strengthen the Border Guard. He described the coming months and weeks as "critical" for all of Europe, saying: "We all know and are familiar with this Russian method."
Addressing critics who he says claim he is "obsessed" with the issue of Russian invasion, Tusk said: "Yes, I'm obsessed with the threat, which is clearly growing month by month in terms of behaviour toward Poland and Europe, and of course, especially Ukraine."
Previous Incidents and Preparedness
This is not the first attempted Russian provocation into Polish territory. In late September, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter crossed 1,000 feet into Nato airspace from Kaliningrad, prompting warnings to residents about preparedness. Poland viewed the move as a deliberate transgression to test Nato defences, as well as a warning to residents to be ready in case of evacuation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski revealed he had an evacuation backpack ready amid fears of full-scale war. Sikorski, 63, told Fakt newspaper it was better to be ready for war amid intelligence reports that Putin could strike a Western state this year. "I have stocks of rice, I have a hand pump at home, and I have also made preserves from fruit from my own garden," he said. "I have the safety instructions, and I have also thought through where the nearest place of shelter is. Everyone should also know how to apply a dressing. That is useful even in peacetime."
Asked whether people should prepare a bag with emergency provisions, Sikorski said: "We have all received the safety instructions, and if the state tells a citizen, 'Listen, these are unsettled times, it is better to be prepared', it does no harm to listen to that. That is my appeal — to listen to it."
