Belarus, which means White Russia, is a pro-Moscow Eastern European state under autocratic leadership, bordering both Ukraine and Russia.
Minsk ditches its non-nuclear status after a constitutional referendum, paving way for Russian nuclear weapons in the country at a time when it has become a launchpad for Russian troops invading Ukraine and marching on Kiev.
Under the new proposal by the EU Commission, the migrants would be permitted to claim asylum only at designated locations, such as border crossings.
The refugees and migrants who were camped in the cold on the Poland-Belarus border have been moved to a nearby warehouse in Belarusian territory.
The current escalations at the border are not the result of migrating asylum seekers or the actions of smugglers, but rather the political decisions of Belarus, Poland, and the EU.
With southern land and sea borders increasingly dangerous for migrants and refugees, many decided to fly to Belarus — and found themselves trapped in a cruel game.
European Union foreign ministers agreed on the fifth set of sanctions against Lukashenko’s govt since 2020, adding airlines, travel agents and others accused of helping bring refugees to Minsk.
Most migrants in the border area remain trapped between Belarusian and Polish security services in makeshift camps.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russian nuclear-capable bombers were necessary for him to monitor the migrant crisis at the border with Poland.
Polish PM accuses Minsk of "state terrorism" as Belarus warns Warsaw of violating internation norms in its treatment of migrants.
Poland said it had seen a surge in attempts to breach its border and had pushed back hundreds of migrants to Belarus.
Hundreds of migrants seek to storm the border from Belarus into Poland, escalating a crisis along the EU's eastern border that has been simmering for months.
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