Guards equipped with machine guns and handcuffs as Belarusian soldiers assist with illegal migrant crossings
With thick pine trees and a wide open sky, the idea that this quiet spot in Poland’s wild east known for its bison and “spirit of the forest” moonshine would become a flashpoint in the conflict between Russia and the West seems unlikely.
Patrolling next to the Swilosz river in the marshland which divides Belarus and Poland, two border guards never expected to be on the front line of what Poles are calling “hybrid warfare”.
“The border is more dangerous because people on the other side are more aggressive” says Major Katarzyna Zdanowicz of the Granica Strzek Border Force told The Telegraph, with Belarusian forces throwing firecrackers over when Polish vehicles are on patrol, trying to shock them into crashing.
“The Belarusian and Russian side is not predictable. They observe us and watch everything. If we change our system of border control, they do something new.”