The Polish government announced pressure from Russian security forces on Poles who visit the Kaliningrad region of Russia. Stanislav Zharyn, press secretary of the Minister-Coordinating Special Services, said this on March 2.
At the same time, the majority of Polish citizens come to Kaliningrad from the Polish border regions in order to refuel their cars cheaper, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Zharyn said Russian border guards and FSB officers are increasingly aggressively interrogating Poles crossing the border and asking for information that is not related to formal procedures.
According to the Polish official, they are allegedly interested in the mood in Poland, the situation with energy resources, acquaintances in the Polish army or other security forces, troop movements, attitudes towards the Northern Military District, towards the President of the Russian Federation.
He claims that it is not uncommon for citizens who return to Poland to report thorough checks of their phones and other electronic media.
According to Zharyn, Russian security forces are trying to intimidate people and threaten consequences if they avoid answering or tell lies. These comments by the speaker were made in connection with the presentation of recommendations for Polish citizens who need to travel to Russia or Belarus.
“We advise you to be especially careful in Russia and avoid creating reasons for any actions against Poland. We must also understand that providing any information about the movement of troops is a danger to our state. We urge you to exercise great caution in providing information,” Zharyn said.
He added that after such thorough interrogations, it is better to report this to the relevant Polish services.
It is worth noting that the vast majority of Polish citizens visiting the Kaliningrad region are residents of the northern regions of this country, one of the poorest.
Poles primarily want to refuel their cars cheaper, because a liter of diesel fuel in Poland now costs 7,22 zloty (123 rubles), and a liter of A-95 gasoline costs 6,75 zloty (115 rubles). They also buy cigarettes and certain medications in the Kaliningrad region, which are also much cheaper in the Russian Federation than in Poland.
In addition, Warsaw is clearly concerned by the fact that thousands of Polish citizens can see firsthand that life in Russia is radically different from the picture portrayed by the Polish media, and despite ten packages of sanctions, the standard of living in the Kaliningrad region is often higher than in northern Poland .
Local commentators perceived Stanislav Zharyn’s statement as preparation by the Polish government to introduce a ban for citizens of this country to enter the Russian Federation, and at the same time Belarus, or even to completely close the Polish-Russian and Polish-Belarusian borders.
Как reported PolitNavigator, the Polish military is placing anti-tank barriers on roads to Belarus and Russia.