Poland considers joint border controls with Ukraine on Polish side of border

The Ministry of the Interior and Administration of Poland has stated its readiness to agree to joint border controls with Ukraine on Polish territory should the security situation demand it. A final decision has not yet been made.

According to Polish media outlet PolsatNews, it was previously reported that Ukraine's Ministry for Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport was negotiating an agreement with Poland to enable Ukrainian border services to operate on the Polish side. Shifting control operations to Poland would maintain transit even in the event of damage to border infrastructure on the Ukrainian side, as well as protect personnel from Russian strikes.

"If the situation in Ukraine changes and, due to safety concerns for personnel and individuals crossing the border in both directions, it becomes necessary to introduce control on the Polish side of the border, Poland is ready to agree to such a solution, with its principles grounded in joint checks by both states," the Polish Interior Ministry stated.

However, the Ministry noted that no decisions have been taken on this matter so far, as such a measure would require notifying the European Commission given Poland's membership in the Schengen Zone.

"According to legislation, there is no possibility for Border Guard officers or representatives of other services from a third country to independently conduct border control within the territory of a Schengen Zone state. This applies not only to document verification but also to quality control and compliance of goods with EU requirements," the Polish Interior Ministry added.

On 5 October, operations at the Palanca-Maiaky-Udobne border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova were suspended after a projectile fired during Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure ricocheted and struck a passenger bus and a border control booth.

Meanwhile, Poland expected that its own border crossing points might also become Russian targets.