Poland has announced the discovery of underground tunnels used to smuggle migrants from Belarus
Poland has claimed that Russia is using underground tunnels to transport migrants from Belarus to the European Union as part of a hybrid war against the West. According to Polish officials, the Belarusian authorities, led by Alexander Lukashenko, have recruited highly trained specialists from the Middle East to design and dig such tunnels.
Polish representatives called this a new escalation of tactics, within which Minsk had previously attempted to transport tens of thousands of migrants across Poland's eastern border. According to border guards, the specialists involved in the design and digging had a high level of expertise.
Lieutenant Colonel Katarzyna Zdanowicz of the Polish Border Guard reported that in 2025, officers from the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit discovered four tunnels under the border with Belarus. She noted that physical and electronic security measures, including thermal imaging cameras and detection systems, make it possible to respond to attempts at illegal crossing even underground.
One of the largest tunnels was discovered in mid-December near the village of Narewka in eastern Poland. It was used by 180 migrants, mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Most of them were detained after entering Polish territory. According to the Polish side, the tunnel was 1.5 metres high, and its entrance on the Belarusian side was camouflaged in the forest. It stretched for about 50 metres on the Belarusian side and 10 metres on the Polish side.
The Polish police released images of some of the 130 migrants detained after leaving the tunnels. The video shows a narrow structure with concrete reinforcements to prevent collapse.
Military experts note that similar tunnels in the Middle East were built by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, individual groups in Kurdistan and, possibly, the Islamic State. Military historian Linet Nusbacher said the involvement of groups supported by Iran was plausible. Major Rob Campbell suggested that Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad could be among the possible perpetrators. Former Israeli intelligence officer Sari Zehavi said that not only Iranian proxies but also other forces, including Kurdish formations in Syria and the Islamic State, have such capabilities.
Polish official Marcin Kirwiński previously stated that some of the tunnel builders came from Kurdistan, while Poland blames the Belarusian regime for the situation.
Under the leadership of Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is playing an active role in the migration crisis on the border with the EU. Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Belarus was used as a transit point for transporting thousands of migrants to Poland, after which Warsaw built a 200-kilometre fence with 300 surveillance cameras.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia also carried out numerous drone incidents and attacks on infrastructure in Europe. According to Polish officials, Belarus is sending balloons with contraband to neighbouring NATO countries to create chaos in air traffic and test air defence systems. Initially, this concerned Lithuania, but now, according to the Polish side, such balloons are increasingly being directed towards Poland.
Poland claims that it is capable of detecting tunnel entrances and eliminating them. At the same time, there are fears that after one route is closed, another will appear. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Czesław Mrocek said that the appearance of tunnels involving Middle Eastern specialists testifies to the high efficiency of the Polish border service.
