POLAND: NGO report reveals extent of pushbacks on Poland-Belarus border ― Prime Minister boasts about possibility of laying mines on eastern border ‘within 48 hours’ ― End of special status for Ukrainian refugees | European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)

A new NGO report has revealed high numbers of pushbacks and violence against people on the move on Poland’s eastern borders.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that Poland would be able to start laying mines along its border with Russia following its withdrawal from the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention.
Poland has ended the special legal and social status it had granted to Ukrainian refugees.

A new NGO report has revealed high numbers of pushbacks and violence against people on the move on Poland’s eastern borders. The report, which was published by a coalition of NGOs, including ECRE member organisations the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), shows that of the 80,865 pushbacks that were recorded on the EU’s external borders in 2025, 28,452 took place along three countries’ borders with Belarus: Latvia (12,046), Lithuania (1,652) and Poland (14,754). It also notes that authorities in Poland were responsible for the most pushbacks from any EU member state. Commenting on the report’s findings, Anikó Bakonyi from HHC said: “European violence against migrants largely takes place out of sight of cameras and journalists, in ever more inaccessible border zones or far beyond its own borders”.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that Poland would be able to start laying mines along its border with Russia following its withdrawal from the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention. Presenting a hybrid mine layer on 27 February, Tusk said: “ We are in the process of finalising this mine project within the East Shield, which is crucial to our security, our territory, and our border”. “This also includes the capability we will soon achieve – the ability to mine the Polish border in the event of a threat within 48 hours,” he added. Poland’s decision to join Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania in leaving the Convention, commonly referred to as the ‘Ottawa Convention’, has raised concerns about the possible impact on the safety of people who cross Poland’s borders with Belarus and Russia irregularly in order to apply for asylum in the EU. In an opinion piece published by the EUobserver online newspaper, Julia Głębocka from ECRE member organisation Amnesty International warned about the “risks for refugees and migrants, creating a new, horrifying and dangerous reality for people seeking protection in Europe” caused by the presence of landmines.

Poland has ended the special legal and social status it had granted to Ukrainian refugees. On 20 February, President Karol Nawrocki signed into law a measure that will abolish the 2022 special regime for the almost one million Ukrainians under temporary protection in Poland. Nawrocki claimed that the special status “began to breed a sense of inequality towards Polish citizens” and that by amending it he was putting an end to the “era of unconditional privileges”. Under the new law, benefits will be increasingly tied to employment and insurance contributions; access to housing, food and some medical support will be limited to the most vulnerable, and stricter residence registration rules will also apply. Although the temporary protection status of Ukrainians has been extended until March 2027, and core healthcare and child benefits formally remain, experts have warned that the reforms will mainly hit those unable to work, especially single mothers, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Related articles