More than 100 Wagner mercenaries have amassed at the Suwałki Gap – a 60 mile pinch point where Poland (and therefore NATO and the EU), share a short border with Lithuania, severing Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave from Russia’s ally, Belarus.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėdadescribed the situation as “a serious threat” and added that the Lithuanian army would support the border guards if necessary.
According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the troops are stationed near the Belarusian city of Grodno.
The Polish authorities are currently busy strengthening the border with Belarus, building fences and installing additional electronic devices for protection while moving troops East. Polish defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak also announced that the missile and artillery unit is returning to the Polish Army after an 18-year break and, announcing that the Polish army’s three divisions will now double to six, deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński stated that “one of the main tasks, perhaps even the main task of the state… is to protect security. Security in all dimensions.”
“Now the situation is becoming even more dangerous,” said Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of Poland. “They will probably be disguised as Belarusian border guards and will help illegal immigrants to enter Polish territory and destabilise Poland.”
Thousands of Wagner troops are reportedly in Belarus following the failed military uprising in Russia and are said to be recruiting more troops in the region. Morawiecki warned that they could pose as migrants in order to cross the border, which has already been weaponised by Belarus, which provided some illegal migrants with equipment that allows them to cross the fence.