Poland has launched a large-scale security operation along its border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, national police chief Marek Boroń said, with extra police, counterterrorism units and troops from the GROM special forces deployed in the northeast. Boroń said the operation began Monday and will run until at least Nov. 8.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that suspicious movements were observed overnight near Kaliningrad, including individuals carrying flashlights close to the border area. He said the quick reaction by Polish forces may have prevented an unspecified provocation this week.
"We very quickly mobilized the necessary security forces and means on site, and we successfully prevented any attempted acts of provocation, if that was the intention. Of course, we will never be able to completely confirm that," Tusk said.
Tusk added that intelligence had pointed for weeks to possible "acts of diversion or more serious provocation" against the European Union, including "the intrusion of armed individuals into Polish territory."
Polish and allied intelligence agencies had warned of possible sabotage and provocations during the first half of November, particularly along the Kaliningrad border, including possible incursions by armed groups. Those warnings had already put domestic security agencies on high alert before the added forces were sent to the regions of Warmia-Masuria and Podlaskie.
A special command centre has been set up at national police headquarters to coordinate the operation. Police said the goal is to protect the public, detect suspicious activity early and prevent attacks on critical infrastructure.
Polish authorities had not published evidence of specific plans for sabotage or an attack originating from Kaliningrad by Tuesday afternoon. The alert follows months of sabotage, air incursions and other low-level incidents across Europe blamed largely on Russia.
Among them, Polish officials directly blamed Russia for an arson attack on a Starlink satellite ground station in September. A fire in August at a Polish factory that makes drones and other military components was also among the incidents attributed to Russia this year.
On Oct. 13, at a joint news conference with Lithuania's prime minister, Tusk said a conversation with NATO Supreme Allied Commander Alexus Grynkewich had reinforced his concerns about growing sabotage threats, including possible provocations involving aircraft or attacks on border crossings.
Kaliningrad is bordered only by NATO members Poland and Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. The Suwałki Corridor, to its immediate east, is the only land link between the Baltic NATO states and the rest of the alliance.
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