President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Poland of territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union and said any aggression against Moscow’s neighbor and close ally Belarus would be considered aggression against Russia, Reuters reported.
Moscow will respond to any aggression against Belarus “with all the means at our disposal,” Putin said at a meeting of the Security Council in a televised speech.
The statements of the head of the Kremlin were made shortly after the Ministry of Defense of Poland said that it is closely monitoring the situation on the border with Belarus and is ready for various scenarios.
Warsaw was on alert after authorities in Minsk announced that mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group would help train Belarusian special forces during military exercises organized near the border between Belarus and Poland, Reuters and Agerpres reported.
“Poland’s borders are safe, we are constantly monitoring the situation on our eastern border and are ready for various scenarios as the situation develops,” the Polish Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
In a video released Wednesday, Wagner’s group leader, Yevhen Prigozhin, welcomes his fighters in Belarus, telling them they will not participate in the war in Ukraine for now and ordering them to prepare for missions in Africa.
The security committee of NATO member Poland decided to move troops to the east of the country at a meeting on Wednesday because of the presence of the Wagner Group in Belarus, its secretary said on Friday, quoted by state news agency PAP and Reuters. .
Troops on the border between Poland and Belarus
On Thursday, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus announced that Wagner’s mercenaries had begun training Belarusian special forces at a military training ground just a few kilometers from the border with NATO member Poland.
“Joint training or exercises between the Belarusian army and the Wagner Group is definitely a challenge,” Zbigniew Hoffmann told PAP.
“The committee considered possible threats, such as the deployment of units of the Wagner Group. Therefore, the Minister of National Defense, the head of the Committee Mariusz Blaszczak decided to move our military formations from the west to the east of Poland.”
People living near the border with Belarus said Thursday they heard gunfire and helicopters after Wagner’s group arrived to train Belarusian special forces, heightening their fears that the war in Ukraine would reach them.
Earlier this month, Defense Minister Blaszczak said Poland had deployed more than 1,000 soldiers in the east of the country.
Also, at the beginning of July, Poland announced that it would send 500 police officers to strengthen security on the border with Belarus.
Poland denies any territorial ambitions in Belarus.
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Source: Hot News
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