Poland plans to move 10,000 troops to border with Belarus, says country's Defence Minister
Aug 10, 2023
Warsaw [Poland], August 10 : Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that the country is planning to move nearly 10,000 troops to the border with Belarus, CNN reported on Thursday (Indian time).
In an interview with the Polish National Radio, the Polish Defence Minister said that around 10,000 soldiers will be on the border where 4,000 will directly support the border guard and the remaining 6,000 will be in reserve.
“The violation of Polish space by Belarusian helicopters cannot be underestimated because of the Belarusian approach,” Blaszczak said on the radio adding it was another provocation.
“Everything that is happening in Belarus is coordinated with the actions of Russia," CNN quoted Blaszczak as saying.
Tensions have been mounting on the Belarus-Poland border since a number of Wagner fighters were stationed in Belarus following the fallout from Yevgeny Prigozhin's aborted mutiny in June.
Last month, Belarus' Defense Ministry announced that its forces will hold joint military exercises with Wagner fighters near the border with Poland, a NATO member.
Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, on July 29, claimed that over 100 troops from the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, are moving towards a thin strip of land between Poland and Lithuania.
The Poland PM said that his government had received information that Wagner mercenaries went near the Grodno, a city in western Belarus close to the land, which is also known as the Suwalki gap or corridor, according to CNN.
Thousands of Wagner troops are reportedly in Belarus following a failed military uprising in Russia.
Morawiecki alleged that Belarus, a key ally to Russia, has been sending migrants westward in an attempt to overwhelm Polish border forces. And till now, this year, around 16,000 attempts were made by migrants to cross the border illegally, he added.
The troop movements, Morawiecki added, appeared to be another element in this campaign to destabilize the border, according to CNN.“They will probably be disguised as Belarusian border guards and will help illegal immigrants to enter Polish territory, destabilize Poland, but they will also probably try to infiltrate Poland pretending to be illegal immigrants and this creates additional risks,” he said, according to CNN.
These claims came as the Belarusian defence ministry, last month, said the country's forces will hold joint military exercises with Wagner fighters near its border with the NATO member.
