Telegraph: Putin, in collusion with Libyan general, may be preparing a migration crisis in the EU
Vladimir Putin and Khalifa Haftar (Photo: occupiers' resource)

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may have teamed up with Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar to provoke a new migration crisis in the European Union. This was reported by the British newspaper The Telegraph with reference to unnamed officials familiar with the matter.

The European Commission has observed an increase in the number of flights between the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi and Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

Officials say the trend indicates possible coordination with General Haftar, the military leader who controls much of eastern Libya, to facilitate a wave of illegal migration into the bloc.

This could mean a repeat of the summer of 2021, when tens of thousands of potential asylum seekers were helped to cross the borders of Belarus in what officials say was an organized effort by Russia to destabilize the EU.

"We are following the recent Minsk-Bengazi flights operated by Belavia. The frequency and nature of these flights, especially at short notice, raise questions about the potential coordination or facilitation of irregular migration flows," said the European Commission spokesperson.

Open-source data reviewed by The Telegraph shows a surge in the number of flights between the Libyan city and the Belarusian capital. In May, there were only two flights between the cities, in June – five, and in July – four.

Earlier, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko was accused of allowing migrants to land in Minsk on similar flights and then helping to transport them to makeshift camps on the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

The media reminded that in the first seven months of this year, the EU recorded about 5,000 illegal crossings of its eastern land borders.

Although the number of flights between Libya and Belarus has decreased compared to last year, the small number of flights between the two countries could lead to a new flow of people arriving to cross the border into the EU.

Europe believes that Putin may use his influence in Libya to re-target the continent, journalists say.

"There is definitely a danger that Russia will use migrants and the migration issue in general as a weapon against Europe. This transformation of migrants into weapons is already happening, and of course we fear that Russia intends to do the same with Libya," Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner for Migration, said in July .

REFERENCE
In 2021, the Belarusian authorities organized channels for smuggling migrants from the country across the EU border, first to Lithuania and then to Poland. Lukashenka has admitted that supporting the smuggling of illegal immigrants is a response to EU sanctions against Belarus, which in turn resulted from fraud in the 2020 presidential election and repression of the opposition. People (most often migrants from Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria) are smuggled across the border with the active assistance of the Belarusian border services.
  • On April 4, 2025, it was reported that Poland would conduct an information campaign in seven countries to combat illegal migration.
  • On July 26, foreign intelligence reported that Lukashenko was again using his country's territory for the transit of illegal migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan to put pressure on EU countries.
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