Inside the hidden network of underground tunnels helping Putin's puppet state smuggle migrants into Europe
Poland, which shares a border with Belarus, says at least four tunnels have been detected.
Migrants are being smuggled from Belarus to Europe through a network of underground tunnels as part of Russia’s campaign of hybrid war against the West, Polish officials say.
Listen to this article
Belarus, Vladimir Putin’s puppet state, has allegedly designed the tunnels with the help of specialists from the Middle East.
Poland, which shares a border with Belarus, says at least four tunnels have been detected.
One of the largest was discovered near the village of Narewka in eastern Poland back in December and was used by up to 180 migrants, authorities say.
It had a 1.5m high entrance on the Belarusian side and was hidden in a forest, running for about 50 metres on the Belarusian side and 10 metres on Poland’s side.
A majority of the migrants who travelled through it were reportedly from Afghanistan and Pakistan - with most arrested upon exiting the opposite end of the tunnel, according to officials.
Images of around 130 migrants who were arrested after journeying through were later released by Polish Police.
Read more: Britain sleepwalking into danger as Poland and EU brace for Russian hybrid war, warn UK experts
“Officers of the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit have uncovered a total of four tunnels under the border with Belarus, all in 2025,” Lt Col Katarzyna Zdanowicz, from the Polish border force, told The Telegraph
He added: “Physical and electronic security measures at the border, such as thermal imaging cameras and detection systems, allow us to immediately respond to any attempted violations of the state border, even underground ones.”
While the culprits have not been confirmed, military experts have speculated that Kurdish fighters, Islamic State and Iranian-backed proxies and Hamas could be involved.
“If I had to speculate, experts from the Middle East would be Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” Major Rob Campbell, a fortifications expert and former British Army sapper, told the Telegraph.
In December, Poland’s interior minister Marcin Kierwiński said that “migrants from Kurdistan are involved in digging these tunnels”.
However, he clarified that responsibility ultimately lies with the Belarusian authorities.
Since 2021, Belarus has been encouraging and assisting migrants in the tens of thousands - mostly from the Middle East, Asia and Africa – to cross over the border in what Polish and EU authorities have branded a “hybrid attack”.
They say it is part of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s response to EU sanctions imposed on his regime following his brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
Maciej Duszczyk, an undersecretary of state at Poland’s interior ministry, said: “For our government the absolute top priority is the protection of our border and security of our territory.”
It comes alongside other tactics the EU claims Russia and its ally Belarus are deploying as part of its covert campaign of sabotage - including drone incursions.
In early September, around twenty Russian drones violated Polish airspace in early September, prompting an unprecedented armed response from NATO jets.
Defence experts told LBC last month that these drone incursions, as well as undersea cable sabotage and relentless cyberattacks have become part of Putin’s “hybrid war” on the West.
Drone incursions have already disrupted civilian life across Europe. Airports in Norway and Denmark have been temporarily shut down, sensitive military sites in Germany and Belgium have been breached, and several NATO states have reported unidentified aerial activity near critical infrastructure.
It has also emerged that Russian spies have transformed properties across Europe into a network of “Trojan horses”.
Clandestine Russian agents are suspected of buying up hundreds if not thousands of sensitive properties near military and civilian sites across several countries in Western Europe.
They are said to be transforming these otherwise unremarkable buildings into potential surveillance hubs, safe houses and weapons depots - with fears many are already stocked with weapons and sleeper agents awaiting orders.