A top U.N. official in Belarus says the situation at the Belarusian-Polish border is catastrophic as thousands of refugees and asylum seekers — many from the Middle East — are braving freezing cold temperatures with no adequate shelter, food or medical care as they attempt to cross into Poland to enter the European Union.

Mulusew Mamo: “As you can see, the situation is very catastrophic. The next day, it will only get worse, I think. One needs to do something. We have already started providing humanitarian aid by the Red Cross. It is something we will continue doing for a few days. What we don’t want to see is a camp forming here.”

Poland has amassed troops on the border to block entry for the refugees. This comes as Polish and other European leaders are accusing Belarus of trying to destabilize its neighbors. At least eight refugees have died so far.

On Thursday, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, threatened to cut off natural gas supplies to Europe if the EU proceeds with plans to issue new sanctions against Belarus. In a sign of support for Belarus, Russia flew two nuclear-capable bomber planes over Belarus on Wednesday and Thursday.