Media reports
Russia and Belarus are apparently increasingly smuggling refugees into Europe – including Germany
Federal police arrest a group of refugees at the Polish border. Russia and Belarus apparently specifically promote migration to Western Europe
© Bernd Wüstneck / DPA
In recent months, more migrants have come to Western Europe again. According to reports, Russia and the Putin-supporting regime in Belarus are behind it.
The report states that, according to statistics from the Federal Police, migration via this route fell so sharply in January and February 2024, with fewer than 30 detections in each case, that it was hardly detectable anymore. However, there were 412 findings in March, 670 in April and 416 in May by the middle of the month.
Managed migrant flow to Europe – part of Russia’s “hybrid warfare”?
The Polish border guards have also registered an increase in people entering from Belarus in recent weeks. Security circles are once again talking about “hybrid warfare,” report “SZ,” WDR and NDR. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The country is being supported by Western countries in fending off the Russian attack.
The number of refugees via various escape routes generally increases at the beginning of summer. According to the report, security authorities see a system behind this specific development, because without the intervention of the respective governments, an increase in the route via Moscow and Minsk is hardly possible. According to the research, half of the migrants for whom there is information about their travel route have Russian visas that were issued in their home countries.
According to the report, Russia is said to be willing to issue entry visas in some countries in order to specifically attract migrants. They often flew to Moscow or St. Petersburg, from where they traveled on to Belarus. From there they then tried to get into the EU, according to the report, according to security circles.
Migration 2023
Most people from these countries apply for asylum in Germany
According to the report, the Federal Ministry of the Interior is cautious about the development. But there, too, an increasing trend is suspected on the escape route via Russia and Belarus. According to the police findings, the overall recorded increase in the number of migrants could be mainly “attributable to the seasonal increase in the number of detections related to Belarus,” “SZ”, WDR and NDR quoted a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior as saying.