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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reportedly warned Saturday {that a} group of about 100 Russian Wagner mercenaries have been transferring via Belarus nearer to Poland’s border.
Poland, each a member of the European Union and NATO, has accused Belarus of wielding “hybrid warfare” in facilitating unlawful migration on the Polish border, suggesting Minsk has inspired migrants to fly into Belarus beneath the false promise of quick access to the European Union, the BBC reported.
Throughout a press convention at an arms manufacturing facility in Gliwice, southern Poland, the place Leopard tanks utilized by the Ukrainian army are being repaired, Morawiecki mentioned about 100 Wagner mercenaries had moved near the Suwalki Hole, in line with The Related Press. The area is a strategic stretch of Polish territory located between Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian territory separated from the mainland. The Suwalki Hole additionally runs alongside Poland’s 60-mile-long border with fellow European Union member state Lithuania.
Morawiecki claimed that the mercenaries may falsely current themselves as Belarusian border guards to assist migrants transfer throughout to the EU.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at press convention in Katowice, Poland on July 20, 2023. Morawiecki spoke out Saturday about Russian Wagner mercenaries nearing the border. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto through Getty Photographs)
“Now the scenario turns into much more harmful,” Morawiecki mentioned, including that “that is definitely a step towards an extra hybrid assault on Polish territory.”
Hundreds of Russian mercenaries have reportedly relocated to Belarus since final month’s short-lived riot orchestrated by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who made his first public sighting for the reason that failed-coup simply days in the past whereas attending an Africa summit in Russia celebrating the Niger coup.
Belarusian troopers and Wagner mercenary fighters attend coaching close to the border metropolis of Brest, Belarus, on July 20, 2023. (Belarus’ Protection Ministry through AP, File)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko informed Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout a dialog final weekend that he would preserve the Wagner mercenaries in central Belarus.
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“They’re asking to go west… to go on a visit to Warsaw,” Lukashenko informed Putin, referencing Poland’s capital metropolis. “However in fact, I’m conserving them in central Belarus, like we agreed.”
Poland’s Inside Ministry mentioned Thursday that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia may make the joint choice to close down their borders with Belarus ought to incidents with Wagner mercenaries unfold on the frontier.
Polish forces enhance safety measures as irregular migrants proceed to attend within the buffer zone between the Belarus-Poland border on Nov. 18, 2021. Poland’s authorities has accused Belarus of “hybrid warfare” in fueling a migrant disaster. (Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Company through Getty Photographs)
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The Poland-Belarus border has already been a tense place for a few years, ever since giant numbers of immigrants from the Center East and Africa started arriving. Poland’s authorities has accused Russia and Belarus of utilizing the migrants to destabilize Poland and different EU nations and has responded by constructing a excessive wall alongside a part of its border with Belarus.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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