Polish Prime Minister Announced the Move of Wagner Mercenaries Towards the Suwałki Corridor
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has stated that a group of mercenaries from the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) is being moved towards the Suwałki Corridor, which connects Poland to the Baltic states and separates the territory of Kaliningrad Oblast and Belarus.
This report comes from Rzeczpospolita.
According to the Polish Prime Minister, this move is "undoubtedly a step towards further hybrid attacks on Polish territory." These mercenaries are likely to be disguised as Belarusian border guards and may assist illegal immigrants in entering Polish territory, destabilizing Poland. Moreover, they might attempt to infiltrate Poland themselves, posing as illegal immigrants, which creates additional risks, he added.
Morawiecki reminded that Poland has been facing constant attacks on its borders over the last two years. Just this year, there have been around 16,000 attempts of illegal border crossings by migrants, lured by Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, aiming to push them towards Poland.
The aforementioned Suwałki Corridor serves as a 95-kilometer border between Poland and the neighboring EU state of Lithuania, separating Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Earlier, the portal "Sprotiv," created by the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, reported the arrival of about a hundred Wagner PMC mercenaries in Grodno.
According to the portal, most of these mercenaries have experience in smuggling activities, including facilitating the illegal crossing of migrants.
Previously, the Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration stated that in case of serious incidents involving the Wagner mercenaries, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia would take joint measures. He also mentioned that talks are underway with Latvia and Lithuania on how to respond to the presence of mercenaries and that border closures with Belarus are possible if necessary.
Warsaw sees the presence of Wagner in Belarus as a potential threat and aims to bolster its eastern flank.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has previously denied provoking a migration crisis in Europe, despite luring potential migrants to its borders with EU countries.
A monitoring group called "Hayun" reported that the thirteenth Wagner PMC convoy has arrived in Belarus. It is moving towards a base in the village of Tsel in Mogilev Oblast, in the central part of the country, where mercenaries and military equipment are stationed.
Last week, it was reported that joint training with Wagner mercenaries took place at the "Brestsky" firing range near the Polish border in Belarus. According to the State Border Guard Service, as of July 22, there were around 5,000 Russian Wagner PMC mercenaries in Belarus.
As reported by The Gaze, Poland decided to deploy troops eastward due to the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, while Lithuania labeled these maneuvers as a "demonstration."