A Polish military court has fully acquitted a soldier who fired warning shots at a group of immigrants attempting to illegally cross the border from Belarus in March 2024. The court ruled that he was simply fulfilling his constitutional duty to defend Poland’s frontier.
The Military Garrison Court in the eastern city of Lublin cleared 25-year-old former private Karol S., of the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, of charges of abusing his powers and endangering the lives or health of others.
He had faced up to three years in prison for the incident near Dubicze Cerkiewne, in eastern Poland close to the Belarusian border, on March 25, 2024.
During a chaotic attempt by immigrants to force their way across the border, Karol S. fired 12 warning shots from his service rifle along the border road after the group ignored verbal warnings and shouts of “Polish Army, stop or I will shoot!”
The immigrants had broken through barriers, having forced apart sections of the steel fence with a car jack and carried ladders to get past the razor wire, and were throwing stones at guards. No one was injured.
Prosecutors had argued he exceeded his authority by firing in the direction of the group, which also included Polish Border Guard officers and other soldiers.
The case judge delivered a strong ruling in favour of the soldier.
“It should be clearly stated that every soldier has a constitutional obligation to protect the border of Poland […] The law cannot yield to lawlessness. The soldier was sent to the border to protect its inviolability, and that is what he did.”
The judge rejected the prosecution’s case as “entirely misguided”, noting that Karol S. was a trained marksman who acted proportionately and that none of the Polish personnel present felt their lives were in danger.
He emphasised that soldiers retain their military status and right to use weapons when supporting Border Guard operations.
The judge pointed out that aggression towards Polish officers by immigrants crossing the border was common at the time. About two months later, in June 2024, a Polish soldier — 21-year-old Mateusz Sitek — died after being stabbed while trying to prevent a crossing.
“What if [Karol S.] had not started shooting?” asked the judge. “Instead of 11 [migrants], 35 people would have crossed the border and six officers would have stood against them.”
The verdict is not yet final, as prosecutors have said they would appeal.
The case is one of several involving Polish soldiers who faced criminal charges for defending the border during the hybrid immigration pressure orchestrated by Belarus since 2021.
The ruling has been widely welcomed by Polish patriots and opposition figures as a victory for common sense and border security.
Wojskowy Sąd Garnizonowy w Lublinie uniewinnił 25-letniego szer. Karola S., który oddał 12 strzałów z broni służbowej do grupy osób na granicy z Białorusią. „Musiał bronić polskiej granicy” orzekł sąd. @RadioZET_NEWS pic.twitter.com/ctVvls2Sy1
— Mateusz Kasiak (@mateusz_kasiak) May 27, 2026
Since 2021, Poland has faced a hybrid immigration crisis on its eastern border, orchestrated by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
Minsk has deliberately encouraged and facilitated the arrival of tens of thousands of immigrants, mainly from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and pushed them towards the Polish frontier in an attempt to destabilise the country and the EU’s external border.
In response, Poland has significantly strengthened its border defences, erecting physical barriers, deploying advanced electronic surveillance systems and stationing thousands of additional border guards and soldiers along the frontier. Warsaw has built a steel barrier roughly 186 kilometres long, set up a restricted buffer zone and, according to Polish officials, deployed some 11,000 troops and guards on the eastern frontier.
