Belarus has started military exercises near its border with Poland and Lithuania, as tensions between the two Nato members escalate over Russia-linked Wagner mercenaries who moved to Belarus after their mutiny in Russia. War games are being held in Grodno, Belarus, near the Suwalki Gap – a sparsely populated 96km stretch along the Polish-Lithuanian border.
Poland and Lithuania have increased border security since Wagner fighters arrived in Russia-allied Belarus. Grey Zone, a Wagner-linked blog on the messaging app Telegram, reported Monday that about 7,000 Wagner fighters are at a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230km north of the Ukrainian border. The fighters are believed to be there under a deal that ended their armed rebellion in late June and allowed them and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to avoid criminal charges. Belarusian leaders are braced for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in a sensitive area where both countries border Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The drills are based on experiences from Russia’s „special military operation” in Ukraine, which includes the use of drones and close interaction of tank and motorised rifle units with other armed forces. Belarus’ military has said it is actively using Russian mercenaries to train its troops, and exercises began as more Wagner fighters arrived in the country.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
Belarus-Poland-Lithuania border tensions
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