Mateusz Sitek, a Polish soldier of the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, was fatally stabbed on May 28, 2024, near the Polish-Belarusian border during an attempt by 50 migrants to cross forcefully. He was protecting the border near Dubicze Cerkiewne in Poland's eastern Podlaskie region. Sitek was stabbed in the chest while blocking a gap in the steel barrier, died on June 6 at a military hospital in Warsaw. A memorial plaque was unveiled on the first anniversary of his death at the attack site by the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit. The plaque and memorial were funded by officers and staff of the Podlaskie Border Guard. Military chaplains of Catholic and Orthodox faith led prayers, with candles and flowers placed at the site. Sitek was posthumously promoted to sergeant and awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in National Defense. An M1A1 Abrams tank and a new border defense unit within the Polish Territorial Defense Forces were named in his honor. The incident occurred amid increased migratory pressure along the Poland-Belarus border from migrants from Asia and Africa since 2021. Warsaw accuses Minsk and Moscow of orchestrating the migrant crisis to destabilize Poland and the EU. Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda paid tribute, calling the sacrifice an expression of the highest courage and soldierly honor while noting ongoing threats from Russia and Belarus.

Mateusz Sitek, a Polish soldier of the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, was fatally stabbed on May 28, 2024, near the Polish-Belarusian border during an attempt by 50 migrants to cross forcefully. He was protecting the border near Dubicze Cerkiewne in Poland's eastern Podlaskie region. Sitek was stabbed in the chest while blocking a gap in the steel barrier, died on June 6 at a military hospital in Warsaw. A memorial plaque was unveiled on the first anniversary of his death at the attack site by the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit. The plaque and memorial were funded by officers and staff of the Podlaskie Border Guard. Military chaplains of Catholic and Orthodox faith led prayers, with candles and flowers placed at the site. Sitek was posthumously promoted to sergeant and awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in National Defense. An M1A1 Abrams tank and a new border defense unit within the Polish Territorial Defense Forces were named in his honor. The incident occurred amid increased migratory pressure along the Poland-Belarus border from migrants from Asia and Africa since 2021. Warsaw accuses Minsk and Moscow of orchestrating the migrant crisis to destabilize Poland and the EU. Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda paid tribute, calling the sacrifice an expression of the highest courage and soldierly honor while noting ongoing threats from Russia and Belarus.