Britain sending 140 engineers to Polish border with Belarus

FILE PHOTO: A fence on the border between Poland and Belarus is seen at the Kuznica-Bruzgi checkpoint on the Polish-Belarusian border amid the migrant crisis, in Kuznica, Poland, December 6, 2021. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

LONDON — Britain will send 140 military engineers to Poland this month to provide support at its border with Belarus, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said, in response to what it termed pressures from “irregular migration.”

Britain already has personnel in its NATO ally Poland, amid tensions at the EU’s border with Belarus. The bloc says Belarus has flown in migrants from the Middle East to push them to cross the border, accusations Minsk calls absurd.

“Our commitment to European security is unwavering and we will always offer support to our allies. This non-combat support will assist Polish efforts to protect their border and pass on vital engineering expertise,” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said.

The MoD said that the deployment of the engineers was expected to last until April.