MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. Nationals of almost 50 countries have attempted illegal crossings of the Polish-Belarusian border to date this year, with a total of 20,000 such attempts being recorded, the onet.pl internet portal reported, citing the Polish Border Guard.

On August 13, 159 migrants, including Indian, Nepalese and Ethiopian nationals, tried to break through the border between the two countries via an overland route. Meanwhile, a group of five migrants, from Cameroon and Congo, managed to cross the Volkushanka River into Polish territory, whereupon their further movement was blocked by border guards.

The Border Guard’s statement noted the growing inflow of migrants: approximately 2,500 attempts to cross the border were recorded in March and April each, while 3,000 monthly attempts were registered in May and June, after which the number surged to 4,000 in July.

In 2022, Polish authorities erected a 5.5-meter-high, 186-km-long steel fence on the border with Belarus. Metal rod sections are topped with barbed wire and equipped with motion sensors and all-weather video cameras. The electronic surveillance system allows the Polish Border Guard to monitor the banks of borderline rivers, where protective fencing was not installed for technical reasons.