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Norway and Poland tighten security near Russia
Summary
Two NATO neighbours of Russia announced new security measures in the days before 6 November 2022, citing drones and migration.
What were Russia's European neighbours doing to harden their borders and installations in the days leading up to 6 November 2022? Facts from the preceding week point to two separate moves.
On 31 October 2022, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced that the country's military alert level would rise the following day. He linked the decision to sightings of military drones near offshore oil rigs over the previous few weeks.
On 2 November 2022, Poland's Minister of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak, announced a barrier along the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Poland believed Russia would use that border to transport African and Asian immigrants to Europe illegally.
Two different concerns
The two announcements addressed different problems. Norway's concerned the security of energy installations offshore, while Poland's concerned a land border and the movement of migrants. Both were reported under the heading of the Russo-Ukrainian War or Poland–Russia relations.
Taken together, they show governments bordering Russia or operating near it adjusting their defences and border controls within a few days of one another.
