text: A Russian biker gang, which Vladimir Putin  describes as his 'friends', has camped out on the Polish border after being banned from entering the country for a World War II memorial ride. Polish authorities said last week they would ban entry to the Night Wolves, with leaders calling their plans to ride through Poland en route to commemorations of World War II a 'provocation'. The group vowed to enter anyway and 15 were seen Monday morning at the border crossing between Brest, Belarus, and Terespol, Poland. Scroll down for video . Stopped: A Belarussian border guard checks the passport of a member of Russia's pro-Putin Night Wolves motorcycle club at a border crossing with Poland near Brest . Links: Vladimir Putin rides a Harley Davidson trike next to Night Wolves leader Alexander Zaldostanov in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, in 2011 . 'Friends': Vladimir Putin, centre, poses for a picture with members of the Night Wolves gang in 2011 . They were allowed to go on by Belarusian guards but  they were then held in a hangar by Polish officials. Poland is extremely critical of Russian actions in Ukraine, and is disturbed that the Night Wolves has rallied against the Ukrainian government and celebrated Russia's annexation of Crimea. Border guard spokesman Dariusz Sienicki said: 'These people will not cross into Poland. Each of them will individually receive a decision denying them entry into Poland's territory'. Some Russian bikers had been seen entering Poland earlier but they appeared to belong to another organisation whose members are allowed to enter. Stubborn: A Belarus' border guard stands in front of members of the Russian Night Wolves Motorcycle Club at a border crossing with Poland near Brest yesterday . Bond: Polish bikers welcome a Russian biker who just crossed into Poland at the border crossing with Belarus. Some Russian bikers who are not members of the Night Wolves have been allowed to enter . Many Poles view the Night Wolves with suspicion because the pro-Putin bikers have rallied against the Ukrainian government and celebrated Russia's annexation of Crimea. Members of the Night Wolves rode down en masse to Ukraine's Crimea peninsula just after it was annexed by Russia in March 2014, and members have also fought with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The German government has also expressed unease at the bikers and said they would not be welcome. 'This is not a normal bike club. They are tools in the hand of Vladimir Putin to make propaganda,' said Tomasz Czuwara, spokesman for the Open Dialog Foundation, a Polish group that supports Ukraine. President: The Night Wolves leader Alexander Zaldostanov, known as the surgeon, leads a procession of bikers out of Moscow as they started the memorial run on Saturday . A flag bearing the image of Stalin is seen as Night Wolves bikers gather in Moscow ahead of the memorial run . Many Poles view the Night Wolves with suspicion because the pro-Putin bikers have rallied against the Ukrainian government and celebrated Russia's annexation of Crimea . Not all Poles are against them, however. The head of a Polish bikers' group, Wiktor Wegrzyn, called the Polish opposition to the bikers 'anti-Russia hysteria'. He and dozens of other Polish bikers gathered on the Polish side of the border Monday to greet and escort the Night Wolves in case they should make it through. The Night Wolves want to travel across Eastern Europe to honour the Red Army soldiers who died in the Allied defeat of Hitler's Germany, visiting their graves and other war sites. Their aim was to arrive in Berlin for ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II on May 8. They left Moscow on Saturday with tattooed leader Alexander Zaldostanov leading a column of bikers waving red flags with portraits of Stalin and the wartime slogan 'For the Motherland! For Stalin!' out of the gang's clubhouse. Russia's Foreign Ministry said it was 'indignant about the refusal of Polish authorities', and accused Warsaw of lying about the real reasons it was barring the bikers. Members of the  Night Wolves Motorcycle Club lay flowers to the Mount of Glory memorial complex in the village of Sloboda, some 25 kilometers east of Minsk,  to honour Soviet soldiers of WWII . A  Night Wolves biker gives a St. Georges ribbon to a Belarussian military academy cadet at Mount of Glory monument on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus yesterday . The Night Wolves are closely linked to President Vladimir Putin, who has joined the bikers several times at rallies, riding a Harley-Davidson trike, and called them his 'friends.' The gang's leader, Zaldostanov, 52, nicknamed 'the Surgeon' due to his former profession, told journalists on Saturday: 'We won't change our plans or our route.' 'If they don't let us all come in together, then we will enter one by one, using numerous different entry points,' he added. 'If we give up on this rally, then we would have to give up on everything else: May 9 (Victory Day holiday in Russia)… our history and all our values,' he said. But many of the bikers said they had been unable to get visas for Europe's Schengen zone. Zaldostanov said his passport is still at an embassy in Moscow, not specifying which one, and that he did not yet know if he would get the necessary visa for the trip. The bikers intend to visit war graves and war memorials in the countries they pass through. They also plan to stop at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, built by the Nazis in occupied Poland and liberated by Soviet forces. Night Wolves bikers arrive at Mount of Glory monument on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, yesterday . 'I don't know what they're afraid of. We are not harming anyone, we are just honouring the memory of those who fell to destroy Fascism,' said Alexei Magister, the president of a biker club linked to the Night Wolves. 'We're not afraid of the welcome we'll get in Berlin. Our grandfathers weren't afraid!' said Alexei Vereshchyagin, a biker who was taking a break from fighting Ukrainian forces in the pro-Russian separatist hub of Lugansk. The Night Wolves biker group was founded in 1989, just before the fall of the USSR, and has around 5,000 members across the former Soviet Union. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
target: The Night Wolves biker gang has been banned from entering Poland .
  They are pro-Putin, and the Russian leader has ridden with them .
  Poland is extremely critical of Russian actions in Ukraine .
  Germany has also said that the Russian bikers would not be welcome .