Maria Kiselyova & Alan Charlish

MOSCOW (Reuters – Russia sent two strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons to monitor Belarusian airspace Wednesday. This was in support of its close ally Belarus, which is currently locked in a migrant dispute with the European Union.

Moscow decided to step up its game as the bloc of 27 nations considered sanctions against Minsk on Wednesday for creating an artificial crisis. Belarus refutes this claim.

Multiple attempts were made by migrants in Belarus to make their way into Poland over the night, Warsaw announced on Wednesday. It said that additional guards had been added to reinforce the border.

Michelle Bachelet (United Nations, Human Rights chief) urged countries to resolve the “intolerable” crisis and stop escalating.

She said, “These children, men and women must not be made to sleep in cold weather with no shelter or water.”

Russia’s Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers were sent over Belarus to carry nuclear missiles.

Russia blamed EU for border crisis. Russia accuses it of not upholding humanitarian values and trying to “strangle,” Belarus, with plans to close some of the frontier. In addition, it stated that the EU shouldn’t impose sanctions upon Belarus in the wake of this crisis.

According to the Kremlin a suggestion that Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made that Moscow played a part in the migration of migrants into Europe was unwise. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, had heard that Vladimir Putin told her that the EU must discuss the issue directly with Minsk.

After talks with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister said that he hopes responsible Europeans “will not allow themselves to fall into a spiral which is quite dangerous”.

On Wednesday, the 27 Ambassadors of the bloc will agree that increasing numbers of migrants fleeing to Belarus for the EU border amounts to hybrid warfare by President Alexander Lukashenko. This legal base can be used to impose new sanctions.

Heiko Maas, Germany’s acting foreign minister said that Mr. Lukashenko “…unscrupulously exploits persons seeking refuge as hostages to his cynical political power play.”

He called images taken at the Belarusian frontier, in which people live in freezing conditions without food or shelter, “horrific”, but stated that it was impossible to blackmail the EU.

In retaliation for previous sanctions that were imposed against Minsk in relation to human rights violations, the EU has accused Belarus of encouraging migrants from Africa, Afghanistan, and the Middle East to cross illegally the border.

Lukashenko denied that the migrants were used as weapons.

A spokesperson for the German government said that Merkel in Germany urged Putin on the Belarus border to make sure there is no tension.

Many thousands have congregated at the border over the past week. Polish soldiers and razor wire fences have frequently blocked entry. Some migrants tried to get through using logs, spades, and other implements.

It was not peaceful night. There were indeed many attempts at breaking the Polish border,” Mariusz Blaszczak (Polish Defence Minister) told PR1.

Reuters captured video of the border and showed that children and infants were among those who remained.

There are many families with children between 2 and 4 months of age. “They haven’t eaten anything in three days,” the videographer told Reuters. He said they were migrant workers and declined to identify themselves.

REINFORCEMENTS

On Tuesday 599 people attempted to cross the border illegally. 9 were detained, 48 returned. Blaszczak reported that 15,000 Polish soldiers were now stationed on the border, up from 12,000.

Two groups of migrants were returned to their homes after midnight. According to Reuters, one of the groups was 200-plus people and was located near Bialowieza. Another group was two or three dozen.

Lithuania, an EU neighbor, made the same move as Poland and declared a state emergency at its borders on Tuesday. 281 migrants were reported to have been turned away that day. That’s the highest total since August.

EU officials accuse Lukashenko, who they claim used “gangster-style tactics” in the border dispute that lasted months. At least seven people have been killed in this conflict. According to three EU diplomats, the EU would sanction around 30 entities and individuals including Belarus’ foreign minister.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council said that the EU had to decide if it wanted to finance fencing to protect its external borders from a Belarusian “hybrid assault”.

Lukashenko’s government blames America and Europe for the suffering of people who are stranded at their border.

After the EU, United States and Britain placed sanctions against Belarus for its brutal crackdown on street protests that were started by Lukashenko’s 2020 election win dispute, the crisis flared.

Russia, Lukashenko’s traditional ally turned to for financial support to withstand protests. Moscow has had the opportunity to increase its support of Belarus as a buffer country against NATO and critique the EU in light of the migrant crisis.

Humanitarian groups accuse Poland of violating international rights to asylum. It is accused by Poland of hustling migrants into Belarus, instead accepting their protection applications. Warsaw insists that its actions were legal.

There have been complaints from migrants that they were repeatedly being pushed by Belarusian and Polish border guards. This put them at high risk of becoming food insecure and causing lack of water.

Michal Swiatkowski (30), a member the Polish Red Cross rescue team from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, said that “Yesterday they helped to secure an evacuation one group of migrants.”

“There were 16 people. Most of them were young children. He told Reuters that although they didn’t require medical attention, they were provided with warm clothes, blankets, food, and other supplies.