Ukraine’s border checks could be moved to Poland amid Russian attacks
Photo: border inspection (Getty Images)
Poland is ready to consider moving border checks to its own territory due to security risks in Ukraine. However, Warsaw has set a condition for such a move, according to Polsat News.
At the end of September, Ukrainian media reported that Ukraine was negotiating with Poland on an agreement that would allow Ukrainian border guards to operate on the Polish side of the border.
The issue was to be discussed during a working meeting between Polish and Ukrainian delegations at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing.
Moving border checks to Polish territory could help maintain cross-border traffic even if border infrastructure on the Ukrainian side were destroyed. This approach is also intended to reduce risks to service personnel and people crossing the border in the event of Russian attacks.
In response to a request from the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration said it was ready to consider such a solution if necessary.
"If the situation in Ukraine changes and, for the sake of the safety of personnel and people crossing the border in both directions, it becomes necessary to introduce checks on the Polish side of the border, Poland is ready to agree to such a solution, provided that the rules are based on joint inspections by both countries," the ministry said.
The ministry stressed that no decisions had yet been made on introducing the new format.
Why Ukrainian services will not be able to operate independently
Poland’s Ministry of the Interior explained that any potential changes must comply with Schengen Area rules. In particular, the European Commission would have to be notified of such a decision because it would concern controls on the movement of people and goods.
Under the current rules, border guards and representatives of other services from a country that is not part of the Schengen Area cannot independently carry out border checks on the territory of a member state.
This applies not only to checking people's documents but also to inspecting goods for compliance with European Union requirements.
Therefore, if the new format is introduced, Ukrainian and Polish services will have to work together. There are no plans to grant the Ukrainian side the authority to independently control the border on Polish territory.
In September, Ukraine’s Ministry for Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport began negotiations with neighboring countries on the possibility of relocating border crossing points abroad because of Russian attacks.
On September 24, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that two border crossings, Dorohusk and Zosin, had to be evacuated following a Russian missile strike on Ukraine near the Polish border.
A few days later, a Russian jet-powered drone fell in the village of Starovoitove in the Volyn region, near the border with Poland. The blast wave damaged the premises of the Yahodyn border crossing.
