Polish authorities ordered the deployment of counterterrorism police to the Belarusian border after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's arrival to the country after his mercenary group's failed rebellion against Russian military leadership.
Officials will send 500 police officers to bolster the country's border with Belarus after the fallout between Russian leaders and Prigozhin. The relocation of the Wagner group's troops to the Eastern European nation has caused concern about greater instability in the region.
Poland Strengthens Border With Belarus
In a post on Twitter on Sunday, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said police from riot patrol and counterterrorism units would be deployed to help control the "tense situation" on the border. He added that the additional forces would join 5,000 security guards and 2,000 soldiers deployed to the border.
The decision comes after 187 people tried to cross from Belarus into Poland on Saturday illegally. Warsaw officials have accused Minsk of trying to create a migrant crisis by pushing people from Africa and the Middle East across the border and into Polish territory, which Belarus has denied, as per Politico.
Poland's ruling Law and Justice party last week said that Warsaw believes that roughly 8,000 Wagner troops could be already stationed in Belarus. The party added that they would take temporary and permanent measures to strengthen the border, including bolstering the presence of security forces in the area and increasing fortifications.
On Wednesday, the Law and Justice party leader, Jaroslaw Laczynski, said that Wagner's presence in Belarus could only mean a "new phase of hybrid warfare." He said this phase was much more difficult to deal with than the one they have faced.
Last week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Wagner chief Prigozhin had already arrived in his home country. The announcement prompted concerns among NATO nations that border the nation, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
The mercenary group leader had previously called on his troops to lead a march to Moscow last month before quickly calling it off. According to DW News, the Belarusian president was credited for assisting in defusing the rebellion.
Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's Failed Mutiny
The rebellion occurred as the Wagner group's soldiers occupied a southern Russian city before marching toward Moscow. The mutiny resulted from Prigozhin calling Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and top general Valery Gerasimov incompetent and blaming them for the failures of the Russian military in Ukraine.
Many were left puzzled after the failed rebellion regarding the situation on Russia's home turf. On the other hand, Prigozhin's media holding group is set to shut down, said the director of one of its outlets, who highlighted the group leader's worsening fortunes.
The outlet, Patriot Media, has taken a strongly nationalist, pro-Kremlin editorial line but also provided positive coverage of Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenary group. In a video clip posted on Saturday, RIA FAN director Yevgeny Zubarev said he was announcing the decision to close down the media outlet to leave Russia's information space, said the South China Morning Post.
