UPDATE 1-Poland extends border controls with Germany and Lithuania until April 2026

(Adds details from ministry statement, background) WARSAW, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Poland will extend controls on its borders with Germany and Lithuania introduced this summer until April 4, 2026, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. Poland introduced temporary controls along borders with Germany and Lithuania in July, echoing moves by several other European Union countries in reimposing frontier checks to stem illegal migration. Poland has been facing what it says is a migrant crisis orchestrated by Belarus and Russia on its eastern border since 2021. Both countries deny encouraging migrants to cross. The border controls were initially for a month, and were extended for another two months in August. The interior ministry confirmed to Reuters that the new extension would come into force on October 5 and run until April 4, 2026. "We are extending border controls with Germany and Lithuania to monitor the migration route leading from the Baltic states, through Poland, to Western Europe," Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski was quoted as saying in a subsequent statement. "We are catching individuals who illegally attempt to smuggle migrants to the West." The ministry said that in the first eight months of 2025, nearly 25,000 attempted illegal crossings were recorded at the Polish-Belarusian border. Border guards detained nearly 500 third-country nationals who illegally crossed the border from Lithuania into Poland, it said. More than 2,100 people were detained for attempting to cross the border from Poland into Germany, including nearly 550 foreigners who had previously illegally crossed the Polish-Belarusian border. (Reporting by Karol Badohal; writing by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

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