Poland is sending twice as many troops as expected to reinforce its border after hundreds of Wagner mercenaries flooded into Belarus.
The EU member state will send 2,000 troops to its frontier with Belarus, the Polish deputy interior minister said on Wednesday, “to stem illegal crossings and maintain stability”.
Polish generals have worried increasingly about the border area since hundreds of battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus last month at the invitation of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarus started military exercises near the border this week, and Lukashenko said several times that he is restraining Wagner fighters who want to attack Poland.
Poland has also seen an increase in the number of mainly Middle Eastern and African migrants trying to cross the border in recent months. For the past two years it has accused Belarus of recruiting migrants in poor countries and sending them across the border illegally to foment instability.
“This reinforcement will be not by 1,000, but by 2,000 soldiers,” Maciej Wasik told state agency PAP. “This decision was made by the Security Committee, this decision was made by (Defence) Minister Mariusz Blaszczak”
On Monday Mr Wasik said that the Border Guard was requesting an additional 1,000 soldiers be deployed.
He claimed 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.
The Belarusian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Belarus started military exercises near the border this week.
