In a meeting on Wednesday, Poland’s security committee decided to relocate military units to the east of the country. This decision was made due to the presence of the Wagner Group in Belarus, according to the secretary of the state-run news agency PAP.
On Wednesday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner Group, was seen in a video welcoming his fighters to Belarus. He informed them that they would not be involved in the Ukraine war for now, but instructed them to prepare for Africa while assisting in training the Belarusian army.
The Belarusian defense ministry stated on Thursday that Wagner mercenaries had begun training Belarusian special forces near the NATO-member Poland’s border. Zbigniew Hoffmann, speaking to PAP, described the joint exercises between the Belarusian army and the Wagner Group as a provocation.
“In analyzing potential threats, such as the dislocation of Wagner Group units, the Committee decided to move our military formations from the west to the east of Poland,” said Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak.
Residents living near the Poland-Belarus border reported hearing gunshots and helicopters after the arrival of Russia’s Wagner Group to train Belarusian special forces. This further increased concerns that the Ukraine war could spread to their area.
Defense Minister Blasczak previously announced that Poland had begun relocating over 1,000 troops to the east of the country.
In addition, at the beginning of July, Poland announced plans to send 500 police officers to bolster security at the border with Belarus.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
