Russian Wagner Group Training Belarusian Special Forces Near Poland’s Border: Impact on Regional Security

The Wagner group’s presence in Belarus means that Poland is now moving forces east, the country’s defense leadership says.

The decision to strengthen the presence of the Polish armed forces in the east of the country was taken by the Polish security committee on Wednesday, the committee’s secretary told the state-run Polish news agency PAP.

The head of the Russian Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared on Wednesday in a video welcoming his mercenaries to Belarus.

Prigozhin emphasized that the soldiers would no longer participate in the war in Ukraine, but gather strength for new missions in Africa while simultaneously training Belarusian government forces.

The Ministry of Defense in Belarus confirmed the following day that Wagner soldiers are now training the country’s special forces, which is happening a few miles from the border with NATO country Poland.

– Training and joint exercises in which soldiers from the Wagner Group and Belarus participate are undoubtedly a provocation, says the Polish Security Committee’s secretary Zbigniew Hoffmann.

– The leader of the committee, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, has therefore decided to move our military units from west to east in Poland, he says to PAP.