In a bid to address rising concerns over the presence of Wagner Group fighters in neighboring Belarus, Poland has started deploying over 1,000 troops to its eastern border, according to the country’s defense minister.
The decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to offer mercenary fighters from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner group the option to relocate to Belarus has raised fears among NATO members in Eastern Europe about increased instability in the region.
“Over 1,000 soldiers and nearly 200 units of equipment from the 12th and 17th Mechanized Brigades are being deployed to the eastern part of our country,” tweeted Mariusz Blaszczak.
Blaszczak added, “This deployment is a demonstration of our preparedness to counter any attempts at destabilization near our border.”
Last week, Poland announced that it would send 500 police personnel to strengthen security at the border with Belarus.
In recent weeks, Poland has observed a surge in the number of migrants attempting to cross the border from Belarus. On Friday alone, more than 200 individuals, including individuals from Morocco, India, and Ethiopia, made illegal crossing attempts, as reported by the Border Guard.
Poland has accused Belarus of orchestrating an artificial migrant crisis on the border since 2021 by flying individuals in from the Middle East and Africa, and attempting to force them across the frontier.
On Saturday, a senior Wagner commander disclosed that mercenaries from the group were in the process of moving to Belarus.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Ros Russell)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
