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Migrants amassed on Polish border receive humanitarian aid from Belarus authorities, NGOs

The migration crisis on the border of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland deteriorated dramatically on November 8

BRUZGI /Belarus/, November 9. /TASS/. Belarusian authorities and some Belarusian NGOs on Tuesday handed over several tons worth of humanitarian aid to migrants staying on the Belarusian border with Poland, TASS reports from the scene.

Migrants received 1.5 tonnes of meat products, 500 kilograms of tinned meat, 1,000 loaves of bread, pastry, water, apples and warm clothing. The aid was delivered on five trucks right to the border section where about 3,000 refugees are staying.

The process was coordinated by employees of the Belarusian Red Cross and military from the State Border Committee. "We are worried, emotions are heavy here," the head of the Belarusian upper house’s committee for education, science, culture and social development, Viktor Liskovich, told migrants. "We did our best so that you could have meals today and could warm yourselves at least a little bit," the senator said.

His speech was muffled by a Polish helicopter hovering over the border. "People wanted to get into Poland, but no miracle happened. The European Union did not let them in," Liskovich said. "People should not be squared off against each other, everything must be settled at the negotiating table," he stressed.

It was reported earlier, that one day after they arrived at the border, migrants had a shortage of drinking water. Later, Belarusian border guards delivered several hundred bottles of water. People crowded while water was being distributed among them, watched by Polish officers from a distance of several dozen meters.

The migration crisis on the border of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland deteriorated dramatically on November 8. Several thousand people approached the Polish border from the Belarusian side and are not leaving the border zone. Some of them have tried to cross into Poland by cutting razor wire fences. The European Union accuses Minsk of intentionally escalating the crisis and urges sanctions. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko blamed the situation on Western countries themselves, since their action had prompted people to flee the war.