By Karim Hammam
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that Poland successfully prevented an attempted provocation on its border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave overnight.
Details of the incident
Tusk said individuals with flashlights were observed in the border area just after midnight, but Polish border guards prevented any incident from occurring.
Security measures and NATO context
Poland, NATO's largest member on the alliance's eastern flank, borders the Kaliningrad exclave to the north and Belarus to the east. Additional police, military, border guards and intelligence services have been conducting preventive operations in the northeastern Warmia-Masuria and Podlaskie regions, a police spokesperson told the Associated Press.
Intelligence warnings
Tusk said he received further warnings about possible escalations from Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, during a visit to Warsaw in October. He has warned for months that Russia might be preparing a more serious hybrid attack against a NATO country, citing intelligence from NATO, Ukrainian and U.S. secret services, including the CIA.
Uncertainty and future escalation
Tusk said it was not possible to confirm with full certainty that the incident was an attempted provocation, but added that Russia's intensified escalation would continue and was unlikely to be limited to this incident.
