Polish-Belarusian border. Is the decision of the Ministry of Interior and Administration on the buffer zone

The Minister of the Interior and Administration signed a regulation extending the buffer zone on the border with Belarus for another 90 days – the ministry said on Saturday. The announcement provided the details of the new regulation, which comes into force on June 8.

On Saturday, the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Tomasz Siemoniak, signed a regulation on the introduction of a temporary ban on being in a specific area in the border zone adjacent to the state border with the Republic Belarus. This means that the buffer zone has been extended by another 90 days – the new regulation will enter into force on June 8.

“The temporary ban on staying in the border zone guarantees the safety of border guard officers, police and soldiers. The extension of the buffer zone will also facilitate the work related to the modernization of the dam and limits the activity of smuggling groups, which is in accordance with Poland's international obligations” – explains the ministry.

“The buffer zone works”

The Ministry of Interior and Administration states that the “buffer zone works” A “after almost 372 days of its operation The number of attempts to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border dropped by about 28 percent“According to the department's data, from June 13, 2024 to June 1, 2025, almost 22.5 thousand such attempts were recorded. Before the introduction of the zone, there were to be over 31.2 thousand.

It was also reported that in 2024 Border Guard officers presented allegations of organizing and aid in illegal migration to 597 peopleamong others from Ukraine (280), Poland (87), Belarus (50) and Georgia (30). A temporary detention was applied to 155 people. The border guard has so far issued 613 consents to stay in the buffer zone.

What areas are covered by the buffer zone?

The zone is banned from being – as the previous time – will cover a section of the 78.29 kilometers long border, located within the territorial reach of the Border Guard facilities in Michałów, Narewka, Białowieża, Dubiczch Cerkiewne and Czereze. On a section of 59.24 kilometers, the area covered by the ban is 200 meters from the state border line, while on a section of 15.26 kilometers located in the area of ​​the Zone nature reserves is wider and amounts to about 2 kilometers. On a section of about 3.79 kilometers, its width deep into the country is about 4 kilometers.

“The area indicated above is a densely forested, often wet/marsh area, where conducting search activities is significantly difficult. This creates a direct threat to the life and health of people who got there from the Republic of Belarus and to officers and employees of state services and soldiers of the armed forces of the Republic of Poland, performing official tasks at the state border” – explained.

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