This includes the four train border crossings at Grodno–Kuznica Białostocka, Berestovitsa–Zubki Białostockie, Svisloch–Siemianówka, and Brest–Terespol, as well as the two car border crossings at Brest–Terespol and Kozlovichi–Kukuryki.
The decision was made by the Polish authorities in connection with the Russian-Belarusian military exercise 'Zapad', meaning 'Geopolitical West'.
According to a report on the website of the Polish television station TVP, during a midnight press conference in the eastern border town of Terespol, Poland, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński announced that the border had been closed and the movement of all persons and goods had been suspended.
Kierwiński said: "Traffic will resume, but only when we are sure that Poles are safe and that we are not threatened by any provocations or aggressive behaviour." The decision to close the border crossings is a decision without a time limit, a decision until further notice," TVP quoted the Polish interior minister as saying.
According to the Belarusian news agency Belta, Polish border guards placed barbed wire on the bridge in front of the border crossing in Brest, thereby closing their own border. Polish border guards erected a metal fence above the barbed wire. Several vehicles lined up at the crossing. They will have to return to Belarus.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed that, despite the inconvenience caused by closing the borders, this step is necessary for security reasons.
