In the cold, damp forest lining the border between Poland and Belarus, thousands of refugees flown over from the Middle East have waiting to cross into the EU for days. Belarusian riot police are shoving them away from their gates and towards Poland, where only more forces await.
The Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has recently been in conflict with the EU, which has imposed sanctions on his regime after last year’s contested elections which many believe to have been rigged. Lukashenko is pushing refugees towards Poland to be pawns in a fight, with the backing of Putin.
The refugees find themselves between a rock and a hard place: in front of them, a Polish government who looks good appearing tough against migration and Lukashenko. Behind them, a dictator who enjoys almost unlimited Russian backing and has absolutely nothing to lose from the current stand-off. And, from where they stand, the coming cold.
A third player is quietly stoking the fire, one that von der Leyen dares not name: Turkey
The EU’s reaction came from Ursula von der Leyen, who called
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