Poland’s defense minister said on Thursday that the government intends to dramatically strengthen its personnel defending the border with Belarus, citing concerns about undocumented migrants seeking to enter the EU and Wagner mercenaries.
The Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said 10,000 soldiers would ultimately be deployed to reinforce the work of police and border guard officers.
Since hundreds of Wagner fighters landed in Belarus last month at the invitation of Russia ally President Alexander Lukashenko, Poland has grown increasingly anxious about the border area.
The mercenaries were relocated to Belarus as part of an agreement that ended their brief insurrection in Russia in late June and allowed them and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to avoid criminal prosecution.
Belarus’ military has stated that it actively uses Russian mercenaries to train its troops, and Lukashenko has stated multiple times that he is preventing Wagner mercenaries from attacking Poland.
In recent months, Poland has also seen an increase in the number of people trying to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East.
For the past two years it has accused Belarus of recruiting migrants in poor countries and sending them across the border illegally to foment instability.
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