2023-06-28 20:24 update: 2023-06-30, 14:03
Photo PAP/Paweł Supernak
Owing to the presence of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group in Belarus, Poland will strengthen the defence of its eastern border, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's deputy prime minister, has said.
The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organisation led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, staged a 24-hour mutiny against the Russian military commanders which ended on Sunday after the Belarusian strongman, Alexander Lukashenko, agreed to mediate between Prigozhin and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin stopped his march on Moscow after he and his troops were promised a safe haven in Belarus. His presence in the country was confirmed by Reuters on Tuesday.
During a press conference after the meeting of the Polish government's Security Committee on Wednesday, Kaczynski announced that "decisions have been made to strengthen the defence of our eastern border, both in terms of some ad hoc projects and projects that will be of a permanent nature."
Kaczynski stated that these actions were the result of "a potentially new situation in Belarus, the presence of the Wagner Group."
"Based on the data we have at the moment, there might be 8,000 soldiers there," he added.
According to Kaczynski, the situation is dangerous not only for Ukraine but also for other countries neighbouring Belarus, such as Lithuania and Poland.
The presence of the Wagner group in Belarus "may mean a new phase of hybrid warfare, a phase much more difficult than the one we have dealt with so far," he said.
Kaczynski insisted that Poland "will be prepared to repel attacks even by such a dangerous, well-trained and determined, yet deeply demoralised military group."
Kaczynski said the strengthening of the border will include the reinforcement of Polish forces stationed near the border and building obstacles in the area.
The deputy prime minister said the presence of the Wagner Group may reignite the migration pressure that Poland experienced in the autumn of 2021. At that time Lukashenko had invited large numbers of migrants, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, under a false promise of easy access to the EU through Poland.
Poland struggled to contain the migrant wave for months, but finally the number of illegal crossings fell rapidly after Poland installed a new border fence equipped with electronic surveillance. (PAP)
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