How the Belarus-Poland Dispute Became a Geopolitical Crisis

Nights are a particularly dangerous time for migrants stranded without shelter in the forest that lies on the border between Poland and Belarus.

Families who have made the treacherous journey from war-torn states including Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen are forced to wrap themselves in damp sleeping bags and huddle together for warmth as temperatures plummet. Polish volunteers and activists deliver soup and clothes in the dark, avoiding using flashlights so as not to attract the attention of Polish border guards, who they say will force migrants back across the border if found.

Some migrants have not eaten for days by the time the volunteers reach them. “I have never seen hunger like this in my life. People are starving and they have nothing,” says Anna Alboth, an activist and member of Grupa Granica, a Polish network of 14 NGOs assisting migrants. “There should be systematic help from humanitarian organizations that know how to do it,” she says.

These migrants have become both the casualties and the unwilling weapons of a new type of conflict raging between the European Union and Belarus. The E.U. says Belarus…