Stanisław Żaryn told reporters on Tuesday that Roman Podlinev, deputy head of the Belarusian border service, was identified in a photograph taken during the riot.
Presenting the photo, Żaryn said the man in the picture “had attracted the attention of our soldiers and border guards with his behaviour, which suggested he had been assigned some 'supervisory' or 'controlling' duties, and seemed to be 'controlling the pulse' of the events in this section of our border.”
“We have established that the man who was present during the migrant attack on our checkpoint in Kuźnica on November 16 is Maj. Gen. Roman Podlinev, the deputy head of the Belarusian border service,” Żaryn added.
He told reporters: “In our opinion, the presence of such a high-ranking official at the time of the attack shows the extent to which Belarusian services are involved in these activities.
“It demonstrates unequivocally that we are dealing with hybrid operations,” which remain “under constan of Belarusian officials."
Żaryn also said that, according to his information, Podlinev "has been tasked with supervising the whole operation of using migrants against us."
He added: “Belarusian border officials are playing an active role in the propaganda war against Poland, and Mr. Podlinev has been heavily involved in these kinds of anti-Polish activities."
The assault on the now-closed Polish checkpoint at Kuźnica on November 16 was one of the most serious incidents of the migration crisis, which is still simmering on the Polish-Belarusian border.
During the two-hour riot, illegal migrants pelted Polish law enforcers with rocks and stun grenades, among other objects, injuring nine policemen, two border guards and a soldier, as police responded with water cannon, Poland's PAP news agency reported at the time.
(pm/gs)
Source: zyciestolicy.com.pl