Polish PM says over 100 Russian mercenaries moving closer to Belarus-Poland border

July 29, BPN. Warsaw has information that over 100 Wagner Group mercenaries are heading in the direction of Hrodna, a major Belarusian city at the border with Poland, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said.

The situation is growing more dangerous, he added noting that the move may be “a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.”

Mercenaries may pose as Belarusian border guards and help illegal migrants to cross into Poland, the politician warned. They may also try to infiltrate Poland disguised as migrants, polsatnews.pl quoted Morawiecki as saying.

Warsaw may cut off all links to Belarus over security risks, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński said on July 27 stressing that Belarus’ western neighbors are ready to respond to any provocations.

On the next day, Lithuania confirmed that Vilnius and Warsaw were considering a joint closure of borders with Belarus in case of serious border incidents involving Wagner Group mercenaries.

Alaksandar Łukašenka used his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin 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.

Russian mercenaries have been regularly arriving in Belarus since mid-July. Their numbers are estimated to be between 3,500 and 5,000 soldiers.