Poland to reinforce its eastern border over Wagner Group's presence in Belarus

WARSAW

Poland’s deputy prime minister said Wednesday that the government has decided to reinforce the country's eastern border due to the presence of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group in Belarus.

Speaking after a security committee meeting, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is also the head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, said there may be 8,000 Wagner fighters in the neighboring country.

As a result, decisions were made in order to strengthen the defense of Poland’s eastern border, he said.

He said the measures will include reinforcement of Polish forces stationed near the border and building barriers in the region.

Kaczynski noted that the presence of the mercenary group in Belarus is a danger not only for Ukraine but also for neighboring countries such as Lithuania and Poland.

He said the presence of the Wagner Group in Belarus could signal a new phase of hybrid warfare.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the private security company, accused the Russian army of carrying out an attack on Wagner and threatened to retaliate.

Wagner fighters left Ukraine and entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case against Prigozhin and the Wagner fighters on the charge of an "armed riot,” with President Vladimir Putin labeling Wagner’s actions "treason."

Prigozhin initially planned to lead his fighters on a march on Moscow, prompting increased security measures.

They turned back, however, to avoid bloodshed near the capital.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he held talks with Prigozhin after getting Putin's consent and that Prigozhin accepted a de-escalation deal.