In the early hours of the morning, shortly before dawn on July 11, 2024, dozens of illegal migrants on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland hurled makeshift spears over and through a five-metre high steel fence at Polish border guards. The crude weapons were tree branches with steel blades taped to the top, demonstrating a new level of organization and intent by the migrants arriving at the EU border. This violent incident is linked to broader hybrid warfare tactics involving Russia and Belarus against Europe. Several Polish soldiers were injured and one, Sergeant Mateusz Sitek, aged 21, was killed during the attack.

In the early hours of the morning, shortly before dawn on July 11, 2024, dozens of illegal migrants on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland hurled makeshift spears over and through a five-metre high steel fence at Polish border guards. The crude weapons were tree branches with steel blades taped to the top, demonstrating a new level of organization and intent by the migrants arriving at the EU border. This violent incident is linked to broader hybrid warfare tactics involving Russia and Belarus against Europe. Several Polish soldiers were injured and one, Sergeant Mateusz Sitek, aged 21, was killed during the attack.