“The Sound of a Shotgun Reload Sends Migrants Back” [REPORT]

“Sometimes, all it takes is the sound, the sound of a shotgun being reloaded, for migrants to retreat from the border,” says General Arkadiusz Szkutnik, commander of the 18th Mechanized Division named after General Tadeusz Buk and the commanding officer of the military group in Podlasie protecting the Polish-Belarusian border. Holding one of the shotguns newly issued to his soldiers, he demonstrates the distinct metallic “pump” sound that echoes through one of the containers of the newly built border infrastructure. Non-lethal ammunition has proven to be an effective deterrent against migrants attempting to cross the border.

General Among His Soldiers

General Szkutnik is not one to mince words. He’s a commander who prefers being in the field with his troops rather than leading from behind a desk. The “Iron Division” serves as a testing ground for combat experience, shaping the Polish military’s response to border challenges. From minor adjustments to larger changes, solutions are being implemented to improve service quality. “For me, the lives of my soldiers are the priority. I’d rather explain the death of a forest animal than the death of a soldier,” the general responds when asked by a journalist about the local environment.

Introducing Changes

The “Iron Division” has been exemplary in improving Poland’s border security. On their section of the border, migrant crossings have nearly ceased. However, the unit’s reputation was tarnished by a serious incident. On January 1, in Mielnik, a soldier from the 18th Mechanized Division deserted his post during the “Safe Podlasie” operation, took his service weapon, and fired at a car carrying a father and his 13-year-old daughter. The soldier hid in the forest but was later captured by the Task Force Group.

A Black Sheep in the Iron Divisio

The soldier was intoxicated and has been discharged. His case is being investigated. “I looked into the eyes of my soldiers. I knew that after their heroic service, they didn’t deserve for the entire Division to be judged by the actions of one man. We have excellent relations with the local community,” the general emphasized. Having served in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Szkutnik believes commanders should be present with their soldiers in the field.

Along the Polish-Belarusian Border

General Tadeusz Nastarowicz of the 21st Highland Rifle Brigade regularly patrols the border, covering several kilometers daily. He oversees the vulnerable Przewłoka section, where marshy terrain prevents building a solid barrier. Instead, a concertina wire fence protects this area. It was here that migrants attempted to storm the border last summer. “We declared an end to makeshift solutions,” says the general. Soldiers who once sank into mud now use wooden walkways, and observation towers and proper guard posts have replaced temporary shelters. Soldiers are equipped with night vision, thermal imaging, drones, tear gas, and shields. They undergo training with police and forest guards before deployment.

Uniform ballistic vests are now mandatory, and insulated jackets and heated posts have become standard in winter. Smoothbore shotguns have effectively ended attacks with slingshots, where migrants launched metal balls capable of piercing two car windows. Significant improvements to soldiers« conditions were made by Paweł Mateńczuk „Naval,” the defense minister’s envoy for service conditions. The back end was also enhanced, as tents have been replaced with housing containers.

“The Honker did its job, but it was an old-generation vehicle,” says a Żmija driver patrolling the border. The first Żmija reconnaissance vehicles were deployed in 2021, strengthening the 2nd Hrubieszów, 9th Warmia, and 18th Białystok Reconnaissance Regiments.

What Has Changed?

Since 2021, I have been reporting from the Polish-Belarusian border. Although the topic of modernizing gear has become heavily politicized between Polish political parties, with ongoing debates over who has done more, throughout all these trips, from Usnarz Górny, where I was at the start of the migration crisis, to the Białowieża Forest, where I was recently, I have witnessed a steady progress firsthand.

In the early stages of countering the hybrid operation at our border, efforts resembled guerrilla tactics due to the terrain, circumstances, and timing of the attack on our frontier. However, it’s important to remember that the decision to build the barrier and the construction itself began swiftly. Today, it is being modernized and reinforced so effectively that migrants can no longer cut through it or bend it using crowbars. Attempts to tunnel under it have become acts of desperation.

The primitive tactics and weapons used by migrants, sometimes reminiscent of medieval castle sieges, required the Border Guard, Police, and Polish Army to develop their own effective countermeasures. There is still debate about whether mechanized troops are being underutilized in border protection and if a modern Border Protection Corps should take over, allowing mechanized forces to return to training grounds.

Undeniably, high-risk service, daily contact with live ammunition, reaction times, field verification of commanders in field, and gear improvements are all factors that military exercises demanded less than the current “Safe Podlasie” operation does. However, this must not come at the expense of soldiers« service quality. The death of the heroic Mateusz Sitek, who was killed defending our border on May 28, 2024, was a shock to Polish society. Within less than a year, Poland had to improve its operations to prevent such incidents, and this goal is being achieved.

The crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border began in the second half of 2021. In August of that year, around 3,500 attempts to illegally cross the border were recorded. By September, that number had doubled, and by October, it reached 17,500. It became clear that a coordinated operation against the Polish border, orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow, was underway. Belarusian opposition media revealed that the Belarusian KGB’s operation, codenamed „Sluice,” involved bringing migrants from the Middle East and Africa. These individuals were deceived by eastern intelligence services into believing they could easily enter the European Union. Ultimately, they were forced to attempt illegal border crossings, becoming tools in a hybrid operation that, as it later turned out, preceded Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In 2024, there were nearly 30,000 attempts to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border. This was higher than in 2023 but unevenly distributed. The reintroduction of a buffer zone and the reinforcement of the barrier reduced incursions into Poland. By mid-2025, the barrier is expected to be fully equipped with additional monitoring systems, further limiting the hybrid operations conducted by Minsk and Moscow.