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Poland and Russia: borders and sanctions in early November 2022
Summary
A look back at two measures announced between 30 October and 2 November 2022 that tightened the distance between Moscow and its Western counterparts.
What was Poland preparing on its border with Kaliningrad as of 3 November 2022? A day earlier, on 2 November, Poland's Minister of National Defence, Mariusz Błaszczak, announced the construction of a barrier along the frontier with the Russian exclave.
The stated reasoning was specific. Poland believed that Russia would use the border to illegally transport African and Asian immigrants to Europe. The announcement framed the barrier as a response to that expected use of the crossing.
A parallel track of sanctions
The announcement followed another step in Russia's dealings with the West. On 30 October 2022, Russia announced sanctions on eleven British Overseas Territories, accusing them of "unfriendly actions" against Moscow.
With that move, the United Kingdom and all 14 British Overseas Territories were on Russia's list of sanctioned territories.
What the two steps showed
The two measures differed in kind: one was physical and defensive, the other a formal sanction. Both, however, were announced within a few days of each other and both concerned relations between Russia and European states. By 3 November 2022, Warsaw was planning a barrier at the Kaliningrad border, and Moscow had extended its sanctions list to cover the full set of British Overseas Territories.
