The Polish-Belarusian confrontation on the border, connected with the migration crisis, has received a new, rather unexpected turn. A serviceman of the Polish army from among the contingent involved in strengthening border protection from migrants has switched to the Belarusian side.
“A serviceman was stopped in the border strip”
“On December 16, at 17:50 near the Belarusian-Polish border, a serviceman of the Polish Armed Forces, Chechko Emil, was stopped by a Belarusian border patrol in the border strip near the Tushemlya border outpost of the Grodno Border Group .Born in 1996, according to a message posted on the official website of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus, the man stated that he was a serviceman of the 11th Masurian Artillery Regiment of the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division named after King Kazimir, parts of which were transferred to provideprotection of a section of the border with Belarus during the period of the state of emergency in the border territories of Poland. In connection with the disagreement with the policy of Poland regarding the migration crisis and the practice of inhumane treatment of refugees, the serviceman asked for political asylum in the Republic of Belarus.
The headquarters of the 16th Mechanized Division of the Polish Army is located in the city of Olsztyn in the north of Poland. The division consists of the 16th Command Battalion, the 9th Armored Cavalry Brigade, the 15th and 20th mechanized brigades, the 15th Air Defense Regiment, the 16th rear Regiment, and also the 11th Artillery Regiment, in which Emil Chechko served.
The permanent base of the regiment is the settlement of Vengozhevo, a city popular with tourists near the border with the Kaliningrad region of Russia. The artillery unit was included in the number of forces that the Polish command involved in the operation against migrants on the border with Belarus.
“The absence of a serviceman was detected”
Journalist of the TV channel “Belarus”1” Ksenia Lebedeva published a photo taken during an interview with a serviceman. “I talked to Emil. Wait for the exclusive,” she said.
Within a few hours after the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus officially announced the transfer of a Polish serviceman to the territory of the country and his appeal regarding the granting of political asylum, the Polish Ministry of Defense remained silent.
The headquarters of the 16th Mechanized Division had to take the rap. Initially, a message appeared on the Twitter of the unit about the death of a serviceman of the 11th Artillery Regiment, which was then hastily deleted.
Then they published a message, which they adhere to now: “When performing tasks at the border, the absence of a serviceman of the 16th mechanized Division was discovered. Immediately, a large-scale search operation was undertaken, in which military personnel and all services operating on the border were involved. The investigation is ongoing.”
The Polish side claims that the soldier disappeared in the vicinity of Nareika, Semenovka and Lake Semenovsky.
“We do not confirm the information that appeared in some media outlets about the alleged escape of a soldier to Belarus,” the statement says.
Escape from under the nose of the minister
It looked rather ridiculous against the background of a photo published by a Belarusian journalist with a soldier, and also words about the fact that the defector had already given an interview. But, obviously, the official Warsaw needs time now to develop a line of conduct in the current situation.
It is known that Chechko is not a rookie. Judging by his dated photographs, he served in the Polish Army for at least two years.
The Polish edition of the newspaper Vyborcha writes: The escape took place almost at the same time when the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak It was located in Sokulka, about a dozen kilometers from the Polish-Belarusian border. In the area of the local sanctuary famous for its miracle, he handed over new command vehicles to the 16th Division.
That is, in fact, a Polish soldier left literally from under the nose of his own defense minister. It is incredibly difficult to hold the blow to the Polish security forces, who talked about the unity of the ranks against the background of the hybrid aggression of Belarus and Russia. Because of this, there is a denial of the obvious.
The account of the Polish Ministry of Defense quotes the words of the commander of the 16th Division, General Krzysztow Radomski: “I do not confirm the information that the soldier escaped.”
“They just don’t want to admit that the soldier escaped”
However, the recognition of the obvious could not be avoided. The RMF24 portal reported: “The soldier left his pistol in the unit. Then he switched to the Belarusian side and was detained in the border zone. Colleagues described the fugitive as problematic. He had a few days left before the end of his service.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, who came to himself after the first shock, wrote in a social network: “The soldier who disappeared yesterday had serious problems with the law, and he submitted an application for dismissal from the army. He was mistakenly sent to the service at the border. I have already demanded an explanation of who is to blame.
“I deserted through the barbed wire, tore my pants and injured my arm,” Emil Chechko himself said in the meantime on the Belarus 1 TV channel, “They just don’t want to admit that the soldier escaped. The only thing in their power is to make the worst person out of me, to tell them that I created problems.
The soldier stated that he could no longer put up with the way Polish counterintelligence officers behaved with refugees.
“Was under the influence of marijuana”
Realizing that Chechko’s revelations could have devastating consequences for the ruling Law and Justice party in Poland, the official Warsaw began to publish information that should prove that the soldier of the Polish Army standing on the border was just a criminal.
“The newspaper Vyborcha” reports: “According to unofficial information, this serviceman was arrested last Saturday in Gizhitsko for driving under the influence of alcohol, he had almost 1.5 ppm and was under the influence of marijuana. After this event, he returned to the service on the Polish-Belarusian border.
How is this possible, you ask? But this is not the limit — the inflated Polish Minister Blaszczak wrote that Chechko… retired from the army. How does all this fit in with the data published by the Polish security forces earlier? Yes, nothing. In the conditions of the prevailing panic, it is not possible to save the face of officials and generals.
“Lukashenka beats Blashchak as a 3-year-old child”
Meanwhile, Poles in social networks are actively discussing what happened:
«The boy was too decent to take part in criminal activity «Law and Justice»
«He chose an easier mode»
«Super! I admire the courage”
“Lukashenka is beating Blashchak as a 3-year-old child”
“Our party is drawing the right line”
“Oh. Cool. I understand. But why exactly in Belarus?”
It’s too early to put an end to this story. Surely we will hear a lot more interesting things from both sides.