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Poland and Russia: border barrier and sanctions
Summary
A look back at two moves in Russia's relations with Europe reported in the days before 3 November 2022.
What was shifting in Russia's relations with its European neighbours as of 3 November 2022? Two reports from the preceding days offer a snapshot.
On 2 November 2022, Poland's Minister of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak, announced the construction of a barrier along Poland's border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The stated reasoning was that Poland believed Russia would use the border to transport African and Asian immigrants illegally into Europe.
A few days earlier, on 30 October 2022, Russia announced sanctions on eleven British Overseas Territories, accusing them of "unfriendly actions" against Moscow. With that step, the United Kingdom and all 14 British Overseas Territories were on Russia's list of sanctioned territories.
Two different tools
The two moves worked differently. Poland's was physical and aimed at a specific frontier, justified by a security concern about migration. Russia's was financial and diplomatic, extending its sanctions list to cover every British Overseas Territory.
Taken together, they show how relations between Moscow and European states were being handled through both border infrastructure and sanctions lists at the start of November 2022.
