Alexander Lukashenko

A member of the Polish Border Guard is seen exiting his vehicle near the border with Belarus on 14 August, 2021 in Zubrzyca Wielka, Poland. Photo: Jaap Arriens

According to the statement dated August 18, the Interior Ministry said 2,100 people had "attempted to illegally enter Poland" via the border with Belarus so far this month.

Now, here on the Polish side of the border, they had no water and their phones had been broken - by the Belarusians, they claimed. And they were adamant that they do not want to go back to Belarus: all three had fresh bandages and Mohammed's head was bleeding.

With Poland, which already hosts a growing number of Belarusian exiles, immediately offering the 24-year-old sprinter a humanitarian visa, Timanovskaya took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo until a flight to Warsaw could be arranged. Contrary to expectations, she didn't fly directly to Warsaw, but took a detour to the Austrian capital Vienna instead.

"Europeans, who are directing a hybrid war against us, Russia and even China, are not only creating a hotbed of strong tension, but are also inciting World War III", the Belarusian leader said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

Lithuania plans to build a barrier on the border with Belarus and deploy troops to prevent migrants from illegally crossing into its territory, news wires reported. According to PM Ingrida Simonyte, more than 1,000 migrants had been held after crossing the border since 1 June.

This was announced today by the European Council.
On June 21, the EU Council imposed sanctions against 78 Belarusian citizens and seven entities for serious violations of human rights and repression of civil society, the opposition and journalists, and for the forced landing of a passenger plane.

EU foreign ministers have resolved to impose their toughest punitive measures yet on Belarus, a package of economic sanctions targeting sectors that benefit the government of President Alexander Lukashenko.

EU Foreign policy top representative, Josep Borrell, announced the decision following a Monday meeting in Luxembourg, and said he believed they would "put pressure" on Lukashenko.

The Council of Europe on Monday said several EU candidate countries in the Balkans had aligned themselves with the Council Decision to strengthen restrictive measures on Belarus by introducing a ban on the overflight of EU airspace and access to EU airports of Belarusian carriers of all kinds.

EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday in Luxembourg to blacklist dozens more supporters of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a bid to tighten the vice on his government and strengthen its opponents, news wires reported. Seventy-eight individuals are to be hit with measures like EU travel bans or having assets located in the bloc frozen, EU sources told dpa last week.

The European Union must expect a further deterioration in relations with Russia even though ties have already sunk to their "lowest level", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.