Poland advises its citizens to leave Belarus

Polish citizens in Belarus should leave the country, Warsaw said on Monday, as relations between the two countries become increasingly tense in part due to the war in Ukraine.

The advice follows a similar recommendation given in September to Poles in Russia, a close ally of Belarus.

“We recommend that Polish citizens staying on the territory of the Republic of Belarus leave its territory with available commercial and private means,” the government said in guidance for travelers published on its website.

Relations between Warsaw and Minsk deteriorated in 2021 when Poland accused its eastern neighbor of orchestrating a migrant crisis on its border and have become even more strained since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Warsaw says that the Polish minority in Belarus faces repression from the state, with some community leaders having been imprisoned.