WARSAW, Poland – Over 100 mercenaries from the Russian-linked Wagner group in Belarus have moved close to the Polish border, according to the Polish prime minister on Saturday.
At a news conference, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that the mercenaries had moved near to the Suwalki Gap, a crucial length of Polish territory located between Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian region detached from the mainland.
Poland is a member of both the European Union and NATO, and it has expressed concern about its security, given its proximity to Russia’s ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border.
Since Wagner group mercenaries landed in Belarus following the organisation’s brief revolt earlier this summer, those suspicions have grown.
The Poland-Belarus border has been tense for several years, especially since massive numbers of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa began arriving, hoping to enter the EU through Poland and Lithuania.
Poland’s government accuses Russia and Belarus of employing migrants to destabilise the country and others in the EU. It regards migration as a type of hybrid warfare and has responded by erecting a high wall along a portion of its border with Belarus.
“Now the situation becomes even more dangerous,” Morawiecki told reporters.
He went on to say that “this is certainly a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.”
Morawiecki spoke during a visit to a weapons plant in Gliwice, southern Poland, where Ukrainian army Leopard tanks are being rebuilt.
Source: AP
