WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland began moving more than 1,000 troops to the east of the country on Saturday, the defense minister said, amid growing fears in the NATO member that the presence of fighters of the Wagner group in Belarus does not lead to an increase in tensions on its border. .
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to offer Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group mercenary fighters the option of resettling in Belarus has raised fears among eastern NATO members that their presence could cause further instability in the region.
“More than 1,000 soldiers and almost 200 equipment units from the 12th and 17th mechanized brigades are beginning to move to the east of the country,” Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter.
“It is a demonstration of our willingness to respond to destabilization attempts near our country’s border.”
Last Sunday, Poland announced that it would send 500 police officers to reinforce security at its border with Belarus.
Poland has seen an increase in the number of migrants trying to cross the Belarusian border in recent weeks. According to border guards, more than 200 people tried to cross illegally on Friday, including Moroccan, Indian and Ethiopian citizens.
Poland has accused Belarus of artificially creating a migration crisis on the border since 2021 by flying in people from the Middle East and Africa and trying to push them across the border.
A senior Wagner commander reportedly said on Saturday that mercenaries from the group were preparing to move to Belarus.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Ros Russell)