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-With Belarus locked in a migrant standoff crisis

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on its border with the European Union,

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Russia on Wednesday took the rare step

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of dispatching two nuclear-capable

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strategic bombers

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to patrol Belarusian airspace.

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And NATO signaled its backing for neighboring Poland.

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Russia's bold show of support for its ally Belarus

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comes as European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen

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during White House meetings on Wednesday

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confirmed that the EU would widen its sanctions

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against Belarus.

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-We absolutely share the assessment

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that this is a hybrid attack of an authoritarian regime

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to try to destabilize Democratic neighbors,

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and this will not succeed.

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-The EU accuses Minsk of drawing in migrants

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from the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Africa

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and then pushing them to cross into Poland

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to try to sow violent chaos on the block's eastern side.

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Polish government video published Wednesday

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allegedly shows Belarusian guards

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leading migrants along the border

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and another purporting to show guards confronting migrants.

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Belarus and Russia are pointing fingers at Europe,

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with the Kremlin accusing the EU

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of failing to live up to its own humanitarian ideals

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and trying to strangle Belarus

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with plans to close part of the frontier.

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Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko

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has said he's not trying to escalate the migrant crisis

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but said Belarus will not kneel down under pressure.

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-If, God forbid, we make any mistake,

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if we take a wrong step,

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then it will instantly drag Russia into this maelstrom,

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and it's the largest nuclear-armed power.

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I am not a madman.

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I understand very well what this could lead to.

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So, there is no valor here.

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Grab an assault rifle and march to the Polish border,

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by the way, a place where I used to serve as a border guard.

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No, surely not. We realize it. We know our place.

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-Amid freezing temperatures, thousands of people

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have converged on the border this week,

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where some migrants have complained

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of being repeatedly pushed back and forth

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by Polish and Belarusian border guards,

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putting them at risk of exposure,

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lack of food, and water.