Poland moving troops to Belarus’ border to scare off potential aggressors – defense minister

July 24, BPN. Russia’s Wagner Group in Belarus poses a threat to Poland, Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak has told Radio Olsztyn.

“We expected this move and transferred military units from the west to the east to scare the aggressor and to show that it is not worth attacking Poland,” he noted.

The 18th Mechanized Division of the Polish army will secure a strategically vulnerable section of the Polish-Belarusian border near the Belarusian city of Brest, he added.

The division is already equipped with 14 US-made Abrams tanks with more scheduled to arrive later this year, Błaszczak said. In August, Polish pilots will start training to operate American Apache attack helicopters, he added.

On July 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin equaled potential aggression against Belarus to aggression against Russia and accused Poland of territorial claims against Belarus. Alaksandar Łukašenka used his July 23 meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg to threaten Poland.

In mid-July, Russian MP Andrey Kartapolov suggested that Moscow was sending the Wagner Group mercenaries to Belarus in preparation for an offensive on the Suwałki Gap, a land link between Russia’s Kaliningrad and Belarus.

Warsaw has repeatedly voiced concerns about potential threats from Belarus and has stepped up its military capabilities in eastern Poland.