ove is to prevent a repeat of the immigration incident on the Polish border. In 2021, the Polish government said Belarus was "sending" hundreds of migrants to the border between the two countries. The European Union has accused Belarus of facilitating migrants and refugees, mainly from the Middle East, to border areas with EU countries in retaliation for EU sanctions on Minsk. Belarus said it was unable to deal with illegal immigration on behalf of the EU because of sanctions. According to reports, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Poland and the Baltic countries have begun to erect fences on their borders with Russia and Belarus.