The migration crisis began in the spring of 2021, when the self-proclaimed president of the Republic of Belarus, alexander lukashenko, announced that he would no longer detain migrants from the Middle East trying to reach the EU. For its part, the European Union accused lukashenko of provoking the migration crisis — as revenge for the sanctions imposed on the country.
The situation worsened on November 8, when a tent camp appeared in the refugee camp on the border between Belarus and Poland, namely near the “Kuznia” checkpoint, which could indicate that the migrants’ attack was planned. There were many attempts to illegally cross the border, but Polish security forces managed to restrain them.
On November 14, 2021, the Ministry of the Internal Affairs of Poland warned on its website that rumors were spreading among refugees about the alleged readiness of Germany to accept migrants and about the logistical decisions allegedly adopted for this purpose: “Buses from Germany will come to them, and Poland will let them through.”
Representatives of the Polish authorities disproved this information and warned people against ill-conceived actions. To level out the spread of misinformation among migrants, SMS messages were sent to their mobile phones urging them not to believe these rumors: “The Polish border is well protected.” The same messages were spread through loudspeakers at border checkpoints.
Employees of the Center for Countering Disinformation predicted that similar provoking tactics could be used within the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. In particular, an informational provocation could have been launched that some neighboring states of Ukraine are allegedly ready to accept refugees who only need to cross the territory of Ukraine.
The Center actively monitored the situation on the border with Belarus in order to respond in a timely manner in the event of the expansion of the migration crisis to the border with Ukraine. Recommendations were also sent to the relevant authorities regarding the need to take preventive measures in advance, in particular, to formulate messages in English, Arabic and other languages with information about the norms of domestic legislation regulating migration issues and the legal consequences of illegal border crossing. The messages should have been intended for preventive information of persons who might try to illegally cross the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. In addition, informative materials were published on the NSDC website.
