Tatsiana Martynava Removed from Train at Polish Border and Banned from EU Entry for 10 Years

Tatsiana Martynava

Tatsiana Martynava, a member of the Coordination Council, was detained while crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border. Her Schengen visa was annulled, and she was banned from entering European Union countries for a period of 10 years.

Tatsiana Martynava told «Nasha Niva» about this.

According to her, the incident occurred on a train traveling from Kyiv to Poland.

— During the document and fingerprint check, Polish border guards said that I should cross the border through a different checkpoint. Then I was removed from the train along with my belongings and taken to a road border crossing. There I was informed that my Schengen visa was being annulled, I face deportation, and a ban on entering the EU for ten years, — Tatsiana Martynava recounted.

At the time of the conversation, she was on the Polish side of the border, awaiting document processing.

— I am currently at the Polish crossing, waiting for the protocol. No one explains anything, there's no information, virtually no one is speaking to me. They only said that the deportation would not be to Belarus. And for that, I am grateful, — she says.

Tatsiana Martynava notes that she has a Ukrainian residence permit, so she plans to return to Ukraine.

— I suppose they will take me back to the Ukrainian border. I will call a taxi and go to Kyiv. But I was going to Warsaw, I have my own business there, my own plans... And what to do now — I simply don't know.

Martynava emphasizes that she previously had no problems crossing the borders of European Union countries.

— The last time I crossed the EU border was last year. All this time I was in Ukraine. I have no fines, no violations on EU territory. Therefore, it is absolutely unclear what the reason is.

According to her, the Polish side has not yet announced the reason for the decision.

— Most likely, the protocol will also not state the reason for the entry ban. But I will challenge this decision and file an appeal.

Tatsiana Martynava admits that she finds herself in such a situation for the first time.

— When you have a Belarusian passport, life turns into hell. We don't have our own country, we are international vagrants. For the first time in my life, I found myself in a situation where I don't understand what is happening and what to do next.

Tatsiana Martynava is a former ONT presenter, blogger, and founder of the civic initiative «Stop Being Afraid». She left Belarus in July 2020 and has been living in Ukraine for the past few years. In 2024 and 2026, Martynava participated in the elections to the Coordination Council as the leader of the «Stop Being Afraid!» list, and today she runs her own media projects and regularly comments on Belarusian and Ukrainian political events.

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