Even as Poland prepares to allow limited traffic through two Belarus border posts next week, the government has unveiled a new layer of physical and electronic defences designed to thwart illegal crossings and so-called hybrid attacks. At a press conference on 14 November, Border Guard commander Brig. Gen. Sławomir Klekotka showed plans for a four-metre-high welded-mesh fence that will run parallel to the existing 5.5-metre steel wall in Podlaskie province.
The secondary barrier will be topped with razor wire and dotted with 10-metre poles carrying thermal-imaging cameras capable of detecting movement in zero-light conditions up to 800 metres away. Integrated motion and vibration sensors will feed real-time data to a command centre in Białystok, where artificial-intelligence software flags suspicious patterns for rapid interception teams. The PLN 180 million project is funded partly by the EU’s Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI) and is scheduled for completion by March 2026.
![‘Smart Fence’ and Thermal Cameras: Poland Ups Border Security as Crossings Reopen]()
Poland says the upgrade is necessary after it recorded nearly 25,000 attempted illegal entries from Belarus between January and August 2025, many involving organised smuggling rings. Human-rights NGOs have criticised push-backs and accelerated deportation procedures, but the Tusk administration argues the measures are proportionate given alleged Belarusian facilitation of irregular migration.
For global mobility and assignment managers the fortified frontier has two immediate implications. First, expatriates and frequent business travellers heading to or from Belarus should anticipate longer processing times as officers test new equipment. Second, transport companies may need to equip drivers with reflective vests and emergency beacons now required in the new ‘controlled buffer zone’ extending 200 metres from the fence.
Longer term, Poland’s two-layer wall-and-sensor concept is likely to become a model for EU external-border management, mirroring similar deployments in Lithuania and Latvia. Companies operating across Eastern Europe should factor potential copy-cat controls into travel policies and supply-chain risk assessments.
The secondary barrier will be topped with razor wire and dotted with 10-metre poles carrying thermal-imaging cameras capable of detecting movement in zero-light conditions up to 800 metres away. Integrated motion and vibration sensors will feed real-time data to a command centre in Białystok, where artificial-intelligence software flags suspicious patterns for rapid interception teams. The PLN 180 million project is funded partly by the EU’s Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI) and is scheduled for completion by March 2026.
Poland says the upgrade is necessary after it recorded nearly 25,000 attempted illegal entries from Belarus between January and August 2025, many involving organised smuggling rings. Human-rights NGOs have criticised push-backs and accelerated deportation procedures, but the Tusk administration argues the measures are proportionate given alleged Belarusian facilitation of irregular migration.
For global mobility and assignment managers the fortified frontier has two immediate implications. First, expatriates and frequent business travellers heading to or from Belarus should anticipate longer processing times as officers test new equipment. Second, transport companies may need to equip drivers with reflective vests and emergency beacons now required in the new ‘controlled buffer zone’ extending 200 metres from the fence.
Longer term, Poland’s two-layer wall-and-sensor concept is likely to become a model for EU external-border management, mirroring similar deployments in Lithuania and Latvia. Companies operating across Eastern Europe should factor potential copy-cat controls into travel policies and supply-chain risk assessments.
