The European Union on Wednesday gave a greenlight to Poland and other countries on Europe’s eastern flank to temporarily suspend asylum rights when they believe that Belarus and Russia are “weaponizing” migrants to destabilize the bloc. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced plans in October to introduce a law that would suspend asylum applications for up to 60 days as his country struggles with migratory pressures on its border with Belarus, angering human rights groups. The freeze has not yet been enacted. The number of migrants arriving at the borders of EU member states from Belarus has increased by 66% this year, compared with 2023. Belarus authorities are accused of helping migrants to get into Europe, including by supplying them with ladders and other devices, according to the European Commission. The EU’s executive branch also accuses Russian authorities of “facilitating these movements, given that more than 90% of migrants illegally crossing the Polish-Belarusian border have a Russian student or tourist visa.” It said that “in view of the serious nature of the threat, as well as its persistence,” EU member countries can temporarily suspend a migrant’s request for international protection in exceptional circumstances. Some migrants are accused of attacking border guards. The commission monitors EU laws to ensure that they are respected. The right for people to seek asylum when they fear for their lives or safety in their home countries is encoded in the bloc’s legislation and international law. European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said a freeze on asylum rights should only be used “when the weaponization is posing security threats for member states and exceptional measures are needed.” New Indian central bank governor takes over amid economic challenges Member states would be permitted to restrict a migrant’s access to asylum rights, but only under “very strict conditions and (with)in legal limits," she said. "So it means that they have to be truly exceptional, temporary, proportionate and for clearly defined cases.” Virkkunen, who declined to provide details, said the commission is providing 170 million euros ($179 million) to Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and non-EU country Norway to boost their border defenses, including upgrading electronic surveillance equipment, installing mobile detectors, improving telecommunication networks, and countering drones that might be sent into EU airspace.  

Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko has congratulated Sheikh Hasina on her reelection of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. "On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Belarus and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate You a confident victory in the general parliamentary elections and re-election to the post of Prime Minister of Bangladesh," he said in a letter written to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. US urges to lower threshold while forming trade union: Law Minister Golovchenko said "This undoubtedly confirms the high trust of the Bangladeshi people, Your authority and the correctness of the strategy for the socio-economic development of the country." He said it is pleasant to note that the dialogue between our friendly States is carried out on the basis of mutual respect, trust and the interest of the parties in further successful strengthening of cooperation in the political, economic and humanitarian fields. China to speed up release of dev assistance to Bangladesh: Finance Minister The Belarus PM said he is convinced that the supply of Belarusian passenger and road construction machinery, electric vehicles and tractors, as well as continuation cooperation in the fields of pharmaceuticals, education, science and technology will contribute for building fruitful bilateral ties to increase the well-being of citizens of both countries. "I take this opportunity to renew invitation to You to visit Belarus at a convenient time," he added. UN Secretary General lauds Sheikh Hasina's leadership "Please accept, Your Excellency, wishes for good health, happiness and success in your responsible position, as well as the assurance of my highest consideration," Golovchenko ended.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2022 went to jailed Belarus rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties, the award’s judges said Friday. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the judges wanted to honour “three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the neighbouring countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.” “Through their consistent efforts in favour of human values and anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalized and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations, a vision most needed in the world today,” she told reporters in Oslo. Ales Bialiatski, one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s, has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development. He founded the Viasna (Spring) organization in 1996 following the controversial constitutional amendments that gave the president dictatorial powers and that triggered widespread demonstrations. Viasna provided support for the jailed demonstrators and their families. Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners. Bialiatski was imprisoned from 2011 to 2014 and was again arrested in 2020 following large-scale demonstrations against the regime. He is still detained without trial. In Russia, Memorial grew to become the largest human rights organisation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Memorial compiled and systematised information on political oppression and human rights violations being the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities. It gathered and verified information on abuses and war crimes perpetrated on the civilian population by Russian and pro-Russian forces during the Chechen wars. In 2009, Natalia Estemirova, the head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya, was killed because of this work. The organisation was stamped early on as a “foreign agent” as part of the government’s harassment of Memorial. The authorities decided that Memorial was to be forcibly liquidated and the documentation centre was to be closed permanently in December last year. But the people behind Memorial refused to be shut down and closures became effective in the following months. The other winner, Center for Civil Liberties, was founded in Kyiv in 2007 to advance human rights and democracy in Ukraine, taking a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy. The organisation has actively advocated that Ukraine become affiliated with the International Criminal Court. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year, it has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population. The award follows a tradition of highlighting groups and activists trying to prevent conflicts, alleviate hardship and protect human rights. Last year’s winners have faced a tough time since receiving the prize. Journalists Dmitry Muratov of Russia and Maria Ressa of the Philippines have been fighting for survival of their news organizations, defying government efforts to silence them They were honoured last year for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on December 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, in 1895.

A murder case has been filed at Ishwardi Police Station in connection with the death of a Kazakhstan national in Ishwardi Rooppur Residential Project Green city in Ishwardi on Saturday night. Shvets Vladimir, 50, an employee of contractor firm NIKIMT at Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, was found hacked to death at a house in the Green city, police said.  His brother, identified as Amere, was admitted to a hospital with injuries. A court in Pabna sent three Belarus citizens to jail on Monday, a day after Iurii Fedorov, director of the contracting firm, filed the case accusing them of committing the murder, said Raihan Pervez, sub-inspector of Ishwardi Police Station. The murder suspects are Urbanavichus Vitali, 44, Fedarovich Henadz, 42, and Matsveyeu Uladzimir, 43. They work at Russian company Rossem. Also read: Kazakhstan national killed in Rooppur Nuke plant site  The three Belarus nationals were earlier detained by police. Later they were shown arrested under the murder case. The body of the Kazakhstan national was kept at the mortuary of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. In primary investigation police found that the two Kazakh brothers went to the room of three Belarus nationals to settle a monetary dispute. At one stage they got involved in heated arguments. Also read: Rooppur N-plant: 5 Russians die in 11 days, probe ordered Police are investigating the suspected murder,” said Raihan.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold talks in Belarus on Thursday, a second round of face-to-face discussions since the Russian invasion eight days ago. In a video address to the nation early Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to keep up their resistance, but didn’t comment on whether the Russians have seized any cities. “They will have no peace here,” Zelenskyy said, calling on the Russian soldiers to “go home” and describing them as "confused children who have been used.” His comments come as Russia acknowledged for the first time since the start of the invasion that nearly 500 Russian troops have been killed in the fighting and around 1,600 wounded. Ukraine has not released a similar casualty figure for its armed forces. The U.N. human rights office says at least 227 civilians have been killed and 525 wounded in Ukraine since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has said more than 2,000 civilians have died, though it was impossible to verify the claim. Also read: UN Assembly votes to demand that Russia stop war in Ukraine Meanwhile, the U.N. refugee agency said 1 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian forces invaded last week. It marks the swiftest exodus of refugees this century. Also, the U.N. General Assembly has condemned the invasion and called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Here’s a look at key things to know about the conflict: POSSIBLE TALKS The Ukrainian president’s office said Wednesday evening that the country’s delegation was on its way to the second round of talks with Russia since the invasion began, but it didn’t say when it was expected to arrive. Vladimir Medinsky, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide and the head of Russia’s delegation, told reporters the Ukrainians were expected to arrive Thursday for the talks in the Brest region of Belarus, which borders Poland. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier Wednesday that his country was ready for talks to resume, but he noted that Russia’s demands hadn’t changed and that he wouldn’t accept any ultimatums. WHAT ABOUT VIOLENCE IN UKRAINE? Zelenskyy’s office reported a powerful explosion Wednesday night between the Southern Railway Station and the Ibis hotel in Kyiv. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is located near that area. Two cruise missiles hit a hospital in the northern city of Chernihiv, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN quoted the city’s chief health administrator, Serhiy Pivovar, as saying. The hospital’s main building was damaged and authorities were working to determine the casualty toll, he said. And in Mariupol, at least one teenager died and two more were wounded by apparent Russian shelling. The boys’ families said they had been playing soccer near a school. Russia’s 40-mile-long (64-kilometer-long) convoy of tanks and other vehicles remains outside the capital, Kyiv. The city has has been struck by deadly shelling. Russia says troops have taken the Ukrainian port city of Kherson. The Ukrainian military denies this. Russian forces have also been bombarding the country’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, and laid siege to two strategic seaports. WHAT IS THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION? U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi wrote on Twitter that an exodus of 1 million refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries has unspooled over the past seven days. This amounts to more than 2% of Ukraine’s population, though some of those fleeing Ukraine are citizens of other countries. The U.N. agency has predicted that up to 4 million people could eventually leave Ukraine, but cautioned that even that projection could be revised upward. The World Bank counted Ukraine’s population at 44 million at the end of 2020. Also read: Refugee count tops 1 million; Russians besiege Ukraine ports The EU Commission says it will give temporary residence permits to refugees fleeing the violence and allow them to study and work in the 27-nation bloc. The move would need the approval of member states, which have already expressed broad support. U.N. CONDEMNATION AND WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION The U.N. General Assembly voted Wednesday to demand that Russia stop its offensive in Ukraine and withdraw all troops, with nations from world powers to tiny island states condemning Moscow. The vote was 141 to 5, with 35 abstentions. U.S. President Joe Biden said the vote “demonstrates the extent of global outrage" at Russia’s assault on its neighbor. The resolution deplored Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine “in the strongest terms.” General Assembly resolutions aren’t legally binding. The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor opened an investigation Wednesday into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Ukraine, dating back to 2013 and covering the current conflict. Prosecutor Karim Khan said he did so after 39 of the court’s member states requested an investigation. Ukraine and Russia, however, are not among the International Criminal Court's 123 member states. ARE SANCTIONS HURTING RUSSIA? In Washington, the White House announced additional sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including extending export controls that target Russian oil refining and entities supporting both countries’ militaries. The U.S. is also joining Europe and Canada in closing off its airspace to Russian airlines. Additionally, Airbus and Boeing said they would cut off spare parts and technical support to the country’s airlines. The French-based Airbus and U.S.-based Boeing's aircraft account for the vast majority or Russia’s passenger fleet. The sanctions also threaten ultra-wealthy Russians who own properties across Europe and send their children to elite European private schools. Some have begun, albeit tentatively, to speak out. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich confirmed Wednesday he’s trying to sell the Premier League Chelsea soccer club, with a price tag of at least $2.5 billion floated. He said net proceeds from the sale will be donated to benefit all victims of the war in Ukraine. Ordinary Russians are also feeling the impact of the sanctions, from payment systems that won’t operate and problems withdrawing cash to not being able to purchase certain items. Also, in a stunning reversal, Russian and Belarusian athletes have been banned from the Paralympics Games for their countries’ roles in the war in Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee announced the about-face less than 24 hours after it had said it would allow the athletes to compete when the Games open on Friday as neutral athletes with colors, flags and other national symbols removed.

Ukraine’s border guard agency says that the Russian military has attacked the country from neighboring Belarus. The agency said that the Russian troops unleashed artillery barrage as part of an attack backed by Belarus. They said the Ukrainian border guards were firing back, adding that there was no immediate report of casualties. Russian troops have deployed to its ally Belarus for military drills, a move that the West saw as a prelude to an invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is about 75 kilometers (50 miles) south of the border with Belarus. BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sharply condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine calling it “a terrible day for Ukraine and a dark day for Europe.” The chancellor said Thursday morning that “the Russian attack on Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law. It cannot be justified by anything.” He added that “Germany condemns this reckless act by President Putin in the strongest possible terms.” Read: Russia attacks Ukraine as defiant Putin warns US, NATO Scholz said in a written statement that “our solidarity is with Ukraine and its people. Russia must stop this military action immediately." He added Germany would coordinate closely with others within the framework of the Group of Seven, NATO and the European Union. BERLIN — The European Union Aviation Safety Agency is telling air operators of a high risk to civilian aircraft over Ukraine, reminding air operators that “this is now an active conflict zone.” In the bulletin issued early Thursday, EASA said that “airspace and critical infrastructure, including airports, are exposed to military activities which result in safety risks for civil aircraft. In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft.” It added: “The presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems poses a HIGH risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels.” It recommended that, “additionally, as a precautionary measure, operators should exercise extreme caution and avoid using the airspace” within 100 nautical miles of the Belarusian- and Russia-Ukraine border. UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Russia's attack on Ukraine — as he appealed for President Vladimir Putin to stop his troops — was “the saddest moment” of his five-year tenure. The U.N. chief opened the emergency Security Council meeting by urgently appealing to Putin: “In the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia." But during the meeting, Putin announced early Thursday that he was launching a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine. Guterres later urged the Russian president to withdraw his troops and added: “In the name of humanity do not allow to start in Europe what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century, with consequences not only devastating for Ukraine, not only tragic for the Russian Federation, but with an impact we cannot even foresee in relation to the consequences for the global economy.” “What is clear for me is that this war doesn’t make any sense,” Guterres said, stressing that it violates the U.N. Charter and will cause a level of suffering if it doesn’t stop that Europe hasn’t know since at least the 1990s Balkans crisis. BEIJING — Asian stock markets have plunged and oil prices surged after President Vladimir Putin announced Russian military action in Ukraine. Market benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul fell 2% and Hong Kong and Sydney lost more than 3% Thursday. Oil prices jumped nearly $3 per barrel on unease about possible disruption of Russian supplies. Earlier, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 1.8% to an eight-month low after the Kremlin said rebels in eastern Ukraine asked for military assistance. Investors already were uneasy about the possible impact of the Federal Reserve’s plans to try to cool inflation by withdrawing ultra-low interest rates and other stimulus that boosted share prices. Read:Stocks slump, oil surges over Ukraine conflict UNITED NATIONS — Ukraine’s ambassador at the United Nations has told the Security Council that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “declared war on Ukraine.” He also pressed his Russian counterpart to state that Russia will not shell and bomb Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said Wednesday night that if Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia was not in a position to give a positive answer, he should relinquish the presidency of the Security Council, which Russia holds this month. The Ukrainian then asked for another emergency meeting of the Security Council, calling on the U.N. body “to stop the war because it’s too late to talk about de-escalation.” Kyslytsya then asked if he should play the video of Putin announcing military operations being launched in Ukraine. Nebenzia replied: “This isn’t called a war. This is called a special military operation in Donbas.” WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is condemning Russia for an “unprovoked and unjustified attack” on Ukraine. He promises that the U.S. and its allies “will hold Russia accountable.” Biden says he plans to speak to the American people Thursday after a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders. More sanctions against Russia are expected to be announced Thursday. In a written statement, Biden adds: “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.” MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a military operation in eastern Ukraine, claiming it’s intended to protect civilians. In a televised address early Thursday, Putin says the action comes in response to threats coming from Ukraine. He adds that Russia doesn’t have a goal to occupy Ukraine. Putin says the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian “regime.” Putin also is warning other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action will lead to “consequences they have never seen.”

Russia on Saturday sent a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over its ally Belarus amid spiraling tensions over Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said the two Tu-22M3 bombers practiced interacting with the Belarusian air force and air defense during a four-hour mission. The flight followed several similar patrols over Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north. The mission came as the Kremlin has moved troops from Siberia and the Far East to Belarus for sweeping joint drills. The deployment added to the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, fueling Western fears of a possible invasion. Russia has denied any plans of attacking Ukraine, but urged the U.S. and its allies to provide a binding pledge that they won’t accept Ukraine into NATO, won’t deploy offensive weapons, and will roll back NATO deployments to Eastern Europe. Washington and NATO have rejected the demands. The West has called on Russia to pull back an estimated 100,000 troops from areas near Ukraine, but the Kremlin has responded by saying it will station troops wherever it needs to on Russian territory. As the tensions over Ukraine soared, the Russian military has launched a series of war games spreading from the Arctic to the Black Sea. The Russian troop deployment to Belarus raised concerns in the West that Moscow could stage an attack on Ukraine from the north. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is just 75 kilometers (50 miles) from the Belarus border. In recent months, Russia has conducted a series of joint drills with Belarus and repeatedly sent its nuclear-capable long-range bombers to patrol over Belarus, which borders NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who has increasingly relied on the Kremlin’s political and financial support amid bruising Western sanctions triggered by his crackdown on domestic protests, has called for closer defense ties with Moscow and recently offered to host Russian nuclear weapons. In an interview with a Russian state TV host aired Saturday, Lukashenko charged that the Russian-led security alliance demonstrated its quick deployment capability when its members briefly sent forces last month to Kazakhstan to help stabilize the situation after deadly riots. “ While they (NATO) will be still getting prepared to send some troops here, we will already stand at the English Channel, and they know it,” he said in a reference to Western allies. The Belarusian leader downplayed the threat of war, but added that if it still erupts “it will last for three or four days at most.” “There is no one there to fight us,” he said about Ukraine. On Saturday, the German newspaper Bild published a report alleging that Russia is poised to attack Ukraine from several directions, capture major cities and install a puppet government. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova angrily dismissed the allegations. As war fears mounted, Ukrainian authorities launched a series of civil defense drills for residents. “I am here to learn how to defend myself, defend my relatives and also understand how to act in the situation,” Kyiv resident Ilya Goncharov said after taking part in drills on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital. “I am happy that I came here to learn the basics of self defense and first aid.” In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Russian border, thousands of people took to the streets Saturday carrying giant yellow-and-blue banners in the colors of the national flag in a show of determination to protect the city. “We want to show that there are people in Kharkiv who are ready to defend it and fight back,” said marcher Svitlana Galashko. Amid the standoff over Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifted 1,000 more from Germany to Romania in a show of the U.S. commitment to NATO’s eastern flank. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled Moscow’s readiness for more talks with Washington and its NATO allies. As part of high-level diplomacy to ease the tensions, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to head to Moscow and Kyiv on Monday and Tuesday, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Kyiv and Moscow on Feb. 14-15. On Saturday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a call with Macron and “they agreed that finding a diplomatic solution to the current tensions must remain the overriding priority.” READ: French, German leaders to visit Russia, Ukraine amid tension Johnson’s office said he and the French president “also stressed that NATO must be united in the face of Russian aggression” and “agreed to continue to work together to develop a package of sanctions which would come into force immediately should Russia further invade Ukraine.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke Saturday with European Council President Charles Michel, saying on Twitter that the tensions around Ukraine’s situation must be de-esclated. In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula after Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly leader fled the country. Russia also threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where over 14,000 have been killed in fighting. Amid the tensions with the West, Putin on Friday attended the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing and met with China’s leader Xi Jinping to strengthen the two countries’ alliance. In a joint statement, Putin and Xi declared their opposition to any expansion of NATO while affirming that the island of Taiwan is a part of China. Putin and Xi announced that the relations between Moscow and Beijing are “superior to political and military alliances of the Cold War era” and their friendship “has no limits.”

Thousands marched in Warsaw on Thursday to mark Poland’s Independence Day, led by far-right groups calling for strong borders, while its troops blocked hundreds of new attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally from neighboring Belarus in a tense standoff. Security forces patrolled the capital for the parade, which was peaceful, unlike those in recent years that have seen violence by some extremists. “Today there are not only internal disputes. Today there are also external disputes. Today there is an attack on the Polish border,” march leader Robert Bakiewicz said in a speech, adding that all Poles should support those who are protecting the eastern frontier. The march was overshadowed by events unfolding along Poland’s border with Belarus, where thousands of riot police, troops and border guards are turning back migrants, many from the Middle East, who are trying to enter the European Union. Makeshift camps have sprung up in forests on the Belarusian side near a crossing at the Polish town of Kuznica, and with temperatures falling and access to the frontier restricted, there are fears of a humanitarian crisis. Read: China’s leader Xi warns against ‘Cold War’ in Asia-Pacific EU officials have accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a “hybrid attack” to retaliate for sanctions imposed on his authoritarian regime for a harsh internal crackdown on dissent. With the EU weighing more sanctions on Belarus, Lukashenko threatened to cut off Russian natural gas supplies to Europe that pass through a pipeline in his country. “I would recommend the Poles, Lithuanians and other brainless people to think before they talk,” he said. The U.N. Security Council discussed the crisis privately but took no action, though six of its Western members condemned the use “of human beings whose lives and well-being have been put in danger for political purposes by Belarus” and called on the international community “to hold Belarus accountable” and “to stop these inhumane actions.” Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, called the EU members’ decision to raise the Belarus-Poland issue in the U.N.’s most powerful body “a total shame.” He said Belarus is not to blame that people who came legally to Belarus want to enter EU countries. Courts and Warsaw’s liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski had banned the Independence Day march, which celebrates Poland’s statehood, but right-wing authorities in the national government overrode the order and gave the gathering the status of a state ceremony. The government’s support for the far-right leaders of the march underlined how Poland’s right-wing ruling party wants their backing. It also is engaged in a political fight with the EU over changes to Poland’s judiciary, seen in Brussels as an erosion of democratic norms, along with rhetoric viewed as discriminatory to LGBT groups. Read: Global Covid cases near 252 million In 2017, the parade drew tens of thousands and featured white nationalist and antisemitic slogans. The next year, the president, prime minister and other leaders marched the same route as the nationalists. In seeking to ban the march, Trzaskowski argued that Warsaw, which was razed by Nazi Germany in World War II, is no place for “fascist slogans.” Groups marched with Poland’s white-and-red flags Thursday, but some also waved the green flags of the National Radical Camp displaying a stylized hand with a sword, a far-right symbol dating to the 1930s. The standoff near the frontier crossing at Kuznica, 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Warsaw, was on the minds of many at the march, and one banner in Warsaw read: “We Thank the Defenders of Poland’s Borders.” Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik tweeted that some security forces “will go directly from Warsaw to defend our border with Belarus. When marching, remember this!” About 15,000 Polish troops have joined riot police and guards at the border. The Belarusian Defense Ministry accused Poland of an “unprecedented” military buildup there, saying that migration control didn’t warrant such a force. The Polish Defense Ministry said the migrants made a number of attempts to cross the border since Wednesday, as they have all week. Near the village of Bialowieza, where a few hundred migrants threw debris across the razor-wire fence at Polish troops and then tried to destroy it, shots were fired in the air to deter them, the ministry said. Near the village of Szudzialowo, migrants attacked a soldier in the chest with a tree branch, but he fired two warning shots in the air and was unhurt, the ministry said, adding that the attackers fled deeper into Belarus. Read: Japanese Embassy awards video contest winners Since the start of the year, there have been 33,000 attempts to cross the border illegally, with 17,000 in October alone, the border guard service said. At least eight migrants have died, officials said, and conditions have been getting worse with freezing nighttime temperatures. Video from Russian state media Thursday showed hundreds of migrants pushing and scrambling to get aid that was delivered to them, along with a woman being treated for what the report said was hypothermia. Mulusew Mamo, a UNHCR representative in Belarus who visited the migrants, called the situation there “catastrophic.” “And in a day, it will be more catastrophic, I think,” Mamo said, adding that aid is being distributed via the Red Cross and will continue for several days. The crisis has been brewing since summer, with migrants trying to cross from Belarus to Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Many want to head for Germany, but Finland also is a destination. Warsaw has taken a hard line, depicting the migrants as dangerous criminals and changing its law to allow the arbitrary rejection of asylum applications, something condemned by the U.N. refugee agency. But Poland has largely gotten support on the border issue from Europe, facing only mild criticism for pushing the migrants back. The problem “is not Poland,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. “The problem is Lukashenko and Belarus and its regime, and so Poland has earned our European solidarity in this situation.” But Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said it was “shocking” to see Europe’s inability to properly handle such a relatively low number of migrants at the Poland-Belarus border. “A few thousand people at Europe’s Polish border, many of whom have fled some of the worst crises in the world, is a drop in the ocean compared to the number of people displaced to countries that are much poorer elsewhere,” he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko’s main ally, for the second time in as many days. The Kremlin said they discussed the Poland-Belarus border and the importance of a “quick settlement” along international humanitarian norms. Merkel’s office said she stressed the crisis was “brought about by the Belarusian regime, which is using defenseless people in a hybrid attack against the European Union.” Moscow and Minsk have close political and military ties, and Russia sent two nuclear-capable strategic bombers on a training mission over Belarus for a second straight day in a strong show of support. Lukashenko has emphasized the need to boost military cooperation in the face of what he has described as aggressive actions by NATO, which includes Poland. The EU is looking at the role some airlines have played in carrying migrants and asylum-seekers to the bloc’s doorstep, and there are reports that it is mulling sanctions against them. Russia’s national carrier Aeroflot strongly denied any involvement, saying it isn’t conducting any regular or charter flights to Iraq or Syria and didn’t have any between Istanbul and Minsk. A Turkish official with direct knowledge of the issue said Turkish Airlines would halt selling tickets to Iraqi and Syrian nationals for flights to Minsk as part of measures being considered by Turkey to help resolve the crisis. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue and because he was not authorized to announce company policy.   Iraq’s Deputy Migration Minister Karim al-Nuri told the Russian state news agency Sputnik that his country will help its citizens who want to return from Belarus, working through its embassy in Russia because it doesn’t have one in Belarus.

Hundreds if not thousands of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor wire fences and using branches to try and climb over them. The siege escalated a crisis along the European Union's eastern border that has been simmering for months. Poland's interior ministry said it had rebuffed the illegal invasion and claimed the situation was under control. The Defense Ministry posted a video showing an armed Polish officer using a chemical spray through a fence at men who were trying to cut the razor wire. Some migrants threw objects at police. Video footage from Belarusian media showed people using long wooden poles or branches to try to get past a border fence as police helicopters circled overhead. Defense Ministry video taken later Monday showed the migrants settling in for the night by the border, having put up scores of tents and cooking meals. “A coordinated attempt to massively enter the territory of the Republic of Poland by migrants used by Belarus for the hybrid attacks against Poland has just begun,” a spokesman for Poland's security forces, Stanislaw Zaryn, said in a statement. Noting that it's also NATO's eastern border, Zaryn stressed that the “large groups of migrants ... are fully controlled by the Belarusian security services and army.” He accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of acting to destabilize Poland and other EU countries to pressure the bloc into dropping its sanctions on Minsk. Those sanctions were put into place after Belarus cracked down brutally on democracy protests. Read: Over 2,000 migrants march out of southern city in Mexico Piotr Mueller, Poland's government spokesperson, said 3,000 to 4,000 migrants were next to the Polish border on the Belarusian side. Polish border officials said the border crossing in Kuznica, in the northeast, will be closed early Tuesday. There was no way to independently verify what was happening. Journalists have limited ability to operate in Belarus and a state of emergency in Poland is keeping reporters and human rights workers out of the border area. The massing of people at the border appeared to rev up the crisis that has being going on for months in which the autocratic regime of Belarus has encouraged migrants from the Mideast and elsewhere to illegally enter the European Union, at first through Lithuania and Latvia and now primarily through Poland. Anton Bychkovsky, spokesman for Belarus’ State Border Guard Committee, told The Associated Press that the migrants at the border are seeking to “exercise their right to apply for refugee status in the EU.” Bychkovsky insisted they “are not a security threat.” But the massive group was viewed as a threat by Poland and other European countries, including Germany — the main destination for many. Steffen Seibert, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, told reporters Monday that “the Belarusian regime is acting as a human trafficker.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on the bloc's 27 nations to approve extended sanctions on the Belarusian authorities “responsible for this hybrid attack.” She said two top EU officials — EU Commission vice president Margaritis Schinas and EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell — will travel to the main countries of origin for the migrants to “ensure that they act to prevent their own nationals from falling into the trap set by the Belarusian authorities.” The EU said it hoped that Poland would finally accept help from Frontex, the bloc’s border agency, a step that Poland’s ruling nationalists have so far refused to do. Frontex would not comment Monday on the border situation. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed concern “with disturbing images and reports emanating from the Belarus-Poland border” and stressed that the U.S. “strongly condemns the Lukashenko regime’s political exploitation and coercion of vulnerable people and the regime’s callous and inhumane facilitation of irregular migration flows across its borders.” He said the U.S. was calling on “the regime to immediately halt its campaign of orchestrating and coercing irregular migrant flows across its borders into Europe" and warned that if the regime “refuses to respect its international obligations and commitments ... we will continue to pressure Lukashenko and will not lessen our calls for accountability." Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Twitter that more than 12,000 soldiers have been deployed to the border and a volunteer Territorial Defense force was put on alert. He also posted video footage of what appeared to be a large group of migrants in Belarus, near Kuznica. Polish ministers held an emergency meeting on the border crisis, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki writing on Facebook that Poland's border is “sacred” and “not just a line on the map." Read: Ransomed and beaten: Migrants face abuse in Libyan detention Poland's deputy foreign minister, Pawel Jablonski held talks with Iraqi charge d'affaires Hussein al-Safi on ways of ending the migration crisis and thanked Iraq for having Belarus close its consulates in Baghdad and Irbil that were giving tourist visas to migrants. Meanwhile, in Poland's EU neighbor Lithuania, officials were preparing for the possibility of a similar incursion, with the Interior Ministry proposing to declare an emergency situation. “We are getting ready for all possible scenarios,” said Rustamas Liubajevas, the head of Lithuania's border guards. Since the summer, Poland and Lithuania have seen thousands of migrants from the Mideast and Africa trying to cross into the EU. Poland has sought to block the attempts or send those they catch back into Belarus. Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich told the AP that the Moscow-backed Lukashenko regime seemed to be trying to use the migrants “to scare” the EU. “The largest attack of migrants on EU borders is taking place three days after Belarus and Russia signed a new agreement on military cooperation. The Kremlin is at least aware of the details of what’s happening,” Karbalevich said.

Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Belarus’ capital on Sunday, demanding the ouster of the country’s authoritarian leader who won his sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged.