Over 100 Russian Wagner mercenaries heading towards Suwalki Gap, says Poland’s Morawiecki
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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has raised concerns over the movement of Russian Wagner mercenary company fighters towards the Suwalki Gap, saying it could be step towards a potential hybrid attack on Poland’s territory.
The announcement was made through Morawiecki’s official Twitter account on July 29.
The Suwalki Gap is a narrow strip of border between Poland and Lithuania, which separates Belarus from Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia bordering Poland and Lithuania next to the Baltic Sea.
Morawiecki stated that the situation is becoming “even more dangerous” as over a hundred Wagner PMC mercenaries are advancing towards the 100-kilometer stretch of border between Poland and Lithuania.
Read also: Ukraine intel says Polish military would 'quickly' deal with any Wagner advance - intel agency
Morawiecki emphasized that his country has been grappling with “constant attacks on the Polish border” for the past two years, with a staggering 16,000 attempts of illegal crossings reported this year alone.
Earlier, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Presidential Office, warned about the possibility of Russia orchestrating a hybrid aggression against NATO using Wagner mercenaries. He pointed out that the Russian mercenaries might target the border areas of Poland and the Baltic countries since they “cannot sit idle in tent camps in Belarus.”
The National Resistance Center (NRC, a Ukrainian civil defense organization) has also issued a caution regarding the preparations for provocations by Wagner PMC fighters. NRC data reveals that approximately a hundred “Wagnerites” have arrived in the Belarusian city of Grodno, near the Suwalki Gap, where they are undergoing training to destabilize the Polish-Lithuanian border.
Wagner in Belarus: What is known
On June 24, a group of Wagner mercenaries, led by commander Yevgeny Prigozhin, ended a one-day rebellion following negotiations with self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin presented three options to the Wagner group, including the possibility of exile in Belarus.
Read also: Lukashenko muses about Wagner attacking Poland to distract Ukraine’s NATO and EU allies
Shortly after, reports emerged about the construction of camps in Belarus to accommodate the Wagnerites, with satellite images suggesting the existence of a probable field camp for the mercenaries. Lukashenko denied the presence of such camps but offered assistance with accommodation if needed.
The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service or DPSU estimated that Belarus could potentially host around 8,000 Wagner mercenaries. However, Ukrainian intelligence cautioned that it was too early to confirm the relocation of Wagnerites to Belarus.
Later, it was revealed that the Wagnerites in Belarus would be providing combat training to Belarusian forces. This claim was first made by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and later confirmed by the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs in their negotiations regarding the training of Belarusian special forces on July 12.
The DPSU announced on July 14 that Russia had withdrawn almost all of its military personnel from Belarus.
As of July 20, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus announced joint “training” operations with the Wagner militants near the border with Poland.
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On the same day, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced the deployment of a contingent of troops to the eastern border in response to the presence of Wagner PMC mercenaries in Belarus.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pledged support to Poland in the event of a potential Russian Wagner mercenary attack from Belarus.
On July 23, the head of the Polish defense department revealed plans to establish a new military unit near the border with Belarus.
Subsequently, on July 28, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, Jarosław Kaczyński, disclosed the government’s decision to reestablish and create new military units, effectively doubling the size of the Polish army.
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