Some 'Night Wolves' bikers enter Poland despite ban

According to the TVP Info broadcaster, a group of bikers crossed the border at Terespol between Poland and Belarus. All of the bikers who crossed the border were German and Slovakian nationals. The Russian members of the Night Wolves remained in Brest, Belarus.

“We want to take part in the Victory Day celebrations. We are visiting places where Soviet soldiers fought,” said a member of the Night Wolves who crossed the Terespol border on Saturday at 8 pm.

Polish authorities informed the Russian Embassy that the Russian members of the biker group would not be allowed into the country because of “security” concerns.

“On 28 April, the Polish Foreign Ministry handed the Russian Embassy a diplomatic note saying the competent authorities of the Republic of Poland had not agreed to allow the 'Russian motorcyclists' entry into the country,” the Foreign Ministry said in a recent statement.

The Night Wolves group – whose leader Alexander Zaldostanov is considered an associate of Russian president Vladimir Putin – set out from Moscow to Berlin and hoped to pass through Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria, to reach the German capital on 9 May.

In 2015, the group was stopped from entering Poland during a similar ride to mark the “70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”.

On Friday, the Russian Sputnik news agency said that Polish Ambassador to Russia, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, was summoned by the Kremlin in relation to the ban. (rg)