WARSAW, POLAND - JULY 7, 2025 - POLISH BORDER PATROL : Poland has reinstated temporary border checks with Germany and Lithuania as of Monday, July 7, aiming to tighten migration controls. According to the Polish public broadcaster TVP World, the checks began at midnight and will continue for 30 days. Authorities are enforcing controls at 52 locations along the German border and 13 locations along the Lithuanian border. Checks will be conducted continuously at 13 western and 3 northeastern crossings, while other sites will be monitored at random. Around 5,000 personnel, including drone units, have been deployed to support the effort. Officials say the move is in response to rising numbers of migrants returning from Germany and concerns that Russia and Belarus are directing migrants through the Baltic countries into Poland. Shortly after the controls took effect, police reportedly detained an Estonian driver suspected of smuggling four Afghan nationals across the Lithuanian border. Polish Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said in a press briefing that the country is fully prepared to manage the renewed controls and that the initiative is key for national security and logistical infrastructure. Germany had earlier announced the extension of police checks at all land borders until September 15, as part of its broader strategy to combat irregular migration. Meanwhile, self-proclaimed “citizen patrols” have been operating along the German border to block the return of non-EU migrants who previously entered Germany via Poland. The Polish government last week accused these groups, supported by right-wing politicians, of disrupting border operations and spreading false claims that Poland is being “flooded” with migrants. Members of the patrols have attempted to check the identification of people crossing the border. Polish Border Guards reported that from Jan. 1 to June 29, more than 4,600 illegal entries from Germany were recorded, with the largest group being Ukrainian citizens (40%), followed by migrants from Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, Georgia and Colombia. The Interior Ministry said more than 850 migrants who entered Germany illegally from Poland this year had originally crossed into Poland from Belarus. Under EU Dublin regulations, asylum claims by non-EU migrants must be processed in the first EU country of entry. Since mid-2021, Belarus, with Russian support, has funneled migrants from Africa and the Middle East into Poland, triggering border tensions. Warsaw has responded by building border fences and deploying security forces along the frontier, which is also seen as a strategic flashpoint in any potential Russian attack on Europe, particularly via the Suwalki Gap, a narrow corridor between Poland and Lithuania. Writing by Aleyna Cil