Threat from Wagner? Poland, a NATO ally, deploys more troops on Belarus border
Poland NATO headquarters
Poland will sends thousands of troops to its border frontier with Belarus, it emerged on Wednesday (August 9).Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik told the state-run news agency PAP that Warsaw will deploy 2,000 additional troops to combat purported illegal crossings and maintain cross-border stability.
The additional troops were reportedly requested by the Polish Border Guards, a request that Warsaw quickly honoured.
Why Poland is bolstering its border security?
An unspecified number of battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries remain in Belarus after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to keep them away from Moscow -- to contain their rebellious influence -- after their failed insurrection against Moscow in late June 2023.
Meanwhile, Belarus also began its military wargames near its border with Poland. At the same time, Lukashenko has cautioned that he is constantly restraining the Wagner fighters who intend to attack Poland, a member of US-led NATO military alliance.
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The secondary threat remains the increase in the number of migrants from West Asia and Africa. Poland in the past has accused Belarus of purportedly recruiting the migrants from impoverished and war-torn regions of the world and sending them across the border to give rise to demographic instability in the country.
"This reinforcement will be not by 1,000, but by 2,000 soldiers," Maciej Wasik told PAP.
"This decision was made by the Security Committee, this decision was made by (Defence) Minister Mariusz Blaszczak".
Also watch |NATO leaders on high alert, reinforce borders
Earlier this month, Wasik said that the Polish Border Guard was requesting an additional one thousand soldiers be deployed.
Wasik said that all attempts to illegally enter Poland by migrants were now being organised by Belarusian authorities.
"If we had real border guards on the other side, and not smuggling services, these crossings would not exist at all," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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