●  Physical attack in Topiło

On 3 November 2023, at about 14:40, near the village of Topiło in the Białowieża Forest (Podlaskie), close to the Belarusian border, a Polish army patrol spotted a group of migrants who had crossed the border irregularly. A soldier, a second lieutenant, ordered a fleeing 22-year-old Syrian man to stop, fired warning shots, chased him and shot him in the back. The military said the shot was fired accidentally when the soldier tripped.

The bullet lodged in the man's spine. He was taken to hospital in Hajnówka and then operated on in Białystok; according to the hospital, a centimetre higher and he would have been paralysed.

The Military Gendarmerie investigated the case under prosecutor supervision. In May 2025 the officer was charged with careless handling of a military weapon. On 21 October 2026 the Military Garrison Court in Warsaw acquitted him, finding no negligence proven, and the Defence Minister publicly backed the soldier.