Belarus–European Union border crisis began sometime around 7 July 2021 when Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko threatened to "flood" the EU with human traffickers, drug smugglers, and armed migrants. Later, Belarusian authorities and state-controlled tourist enterprises, together with some airlines operating in the Middle East, started promoting tours to Belarus by increasing the number of connections from the Middle East and giving those who bought them Belarusian visas, ostensibly for hunting purposes. Social media groups were additionally offering fraudulent advice on the rules of crossing the border to the prospective migrants, most of whom were trying to reach Germany. Those who arrived in Belarus were then given instructions about how and where to trespass the European Union (EU) border, and what to tell the border guards on the other side of the border. Migrants said that Belarus provided them with wire cutters and axes to cut through border fences and enter the EU; however, those who did not manage to cross the border were often forced to stay there by Belarusian authorities, who were accused of assaulting some migrants who failed to get across. Belarusian authorities later confirmed that the involvement of the border troops is "absolutely possible". Belarus refused to allow Polish humanitarian aid for the migrants, which would have included tents and sleeping bags. Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia have described the crisis as hybrid warfare, calling the crisis an incident of human trafficking of migrants, waged by Belarus against the EU. The three governments declared a state of emergency and announced their decisions to build border walls on their borders with Belarus, with Poland approving an estimated €353 million in spending to build a barrier. The EU sent additional supporting officers and patrol cars to Lithuania, and 12 EU governments stated their support for a physical barrier along the border. 2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that started on 24 February led to the 2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis. By 6 September 2022, according to the UNHCR, almost 7.2 million Ukrainian refugees left the territory of Ukraine, with the vast majority initially fleeing to the countries closest to its western border. Almost 1.4 million people fled to neighboring Poland. Demographics The largest refugee group in Poland are people from the former Soviet Union; prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine each year since 2000 this group formed between 40–90% of the individuals applying for refugee