Poland shields its border with Belarus against the advance of Wagner's mercenaries

Poland has decided to strengthen security on its border with Belarus after finding that more than 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian-linked Wagner group have moved near the border with Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday.

Morawiecki told a press conference that the mercenaries had approached Suwalki Gap, a strategic point in Polish territory located between Belarus and Kaliningrad.

Poland is a member of both the European Union and NATO, and has worried about its security with Russian ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border. Those fears have grown since mercenaries from the Wagner group arrived in Belarus since the group's short-lived rebellion earlier this summer.

Just a few days ago it was the Polish Minister for Special Affairs, Stanislaw Zaryn, who warned that “we must be prepared in the event that mercenaries from the Wagner Group are used against Poland.”. “It is not clear what mission they will finally carry out,” he added.

The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, has also asserted that the presence of mercenaries from the Wagner Group in Belarusian territory constitutes a “serious threat” to Lithuanian security, as well as to the rest of the countries bordering Belarus, such as Poland and Latvia.

The Wagner Group mercenaries were sent to Belarus as a solution to their attempted rebellion against the Russian authorities at the end of June.. In response, Lithuania took additional security measures and prepared its Armed Forces to collaborate with the Border Guard in case of emergency.