Poland reinforced security near its border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region following warnings about possible sabotage and incursions, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on 3 November. The police-led operation involved extra police and counterterrorism officers. Police said they were working with the military, border guards and intelligence services.
Tusk said the operation was taking place in the north-eastern regions of Warmia-Masuria and Podlaskie. A command team had been established at national police headquarters, while regional police commands in Olsztyn and Białystok were taking part. Police said reinforcements had arrived from several regions.
Tusk said officers were sent following information from Polish and allied services that sabotage or more serious provocations could occur. He said more specific intelligence pointed to possible incidents in the first half of November, including an incursion by armed people. These were warnings about possible future events, not confirmation that such an incursion had occurred.
The prime minister said NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, had also warned him of a possible escalation during a visit to Poland in October. Tusk’s public remarks did not disclose the underlying intelligence or evidence behind the warnings.
Separately, border guards described activity on the Russian side of the frontier during the night of 2–3 November. Tusk said he was told shortly after midnight that people carrying torches had been spotted and that forces were quickly sent to the area.
A border guard spokeswoman said several people were seen but there was no attempt to cross the border. She did not give a precise location. Tusk said a provocation may have been prevented, but acknowledged that it was not possible to establish whether the people had intended one. The officials’ accounts did not establish their identities or intentions.
Police had earlier placed officers on full readiness from 2 to 8 November, linking the instruction to security risks. That readiness period is not a confirmed end date for the border operation. The police chief said the measures were intended to protect people living in the area and guard against potential threats.
The wider border
Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave separated from the rest of Russia by other countries. It lies between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. The operation described by Tusk extended beyond the Kaliningrad frontier to the north-east, where Poland also borders Belarus.
The area sits close to the Suwałki corridor, the land route along the Polish–Lithuanian border between Kaliningrad and Belarus. It links the Baltic NATO members to the rest of the alliance by land. That geography does not establish a connection between the overnight sighting and any plan to attack the corridor.
Poland belongs to NATO, which maintains multinational battlegroups on its eastern flank. In June 2026, a US-led battlegroup in Poland included contributions from Croatia, Romania and the UK. NATO also launched Eastern Sentry in September 2025 to increase vigilance across its eastern flank, drawing on assets such as aircraft, helicopters and air-defence systems from member countries. The existing battlegroup is not evidence of British involvement in this Polish police operation.
The UK and Poland recently set out a separate defence plan covering air-defence missiles, drone and counter-drone technology, cyber resilience and Baltic maritime exercises. The plan describes areas of intended co-operation; the border operation was a Polish security response to the warnings described by Tusk.
