Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński announced the move via social media on Sunday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He said in a tweet: “Due to the tense situation on the border with Belarus I have decided to bolster our forces with 500 Polish police officers from preventive and counterterrorism units.”
Kamiński added: “They will join 5,000 border guards and 2,000 soldiers in securing this border of Poland.”
His announcement followed a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, who said last Wednesday that Poland would put more personnel and physical reinforcements at its eastern border in response to plans for Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries to relocate to Belarus.
Wagner Group owner Yevgheny Prigozhin, who led a failed rebellion against Russia’s military command on June 24, was allowed to move to Belarus, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Wagner troops the possibility of relocating to Belarus, sparking fears among eastern NATO members that their presence would cause greater instability in the region, the Reuters news agency reported.
Migrant pressure, Wagner presence
Poland has accused Belarus of artificially creating a migrant crisis on the border since 2021 by importing people from the Middle East and Africa and attempting to push them across the frontier to destabilise the European Union, according to news outlets.
The Polish Border Guard agency said on Sunday that 187 people tried to cross into Poland from Belarus illegally the previous day, adding that the numbers had been growing steadily in recent months, although they are well below levels seen in 2021, Reuters reported.
A spokeswoman for Poland's Border Guard, Anna Michalska, said that Polish patrols at the border have also faced more aggressive behaviour in the past two months as the number of migrants rose, according to Reuters.
Michalska said: "The groups are more aggressive. There have been many attacks on Polish patrols. Seventeen vehicles have been damaged this year, including 13 in June alone.”
Wagner fighters in Belarus 'to carry out a mission': Polish official
Meanwhile, Poland’s Deputy Minister Coordinator of Special Services Stanislaw Żaryn told Reuters that the bigger security presence was also in response to the transfer of Wagner Group mercenaries to Belarus.
The Polish security official said on Sunday evening: "It is still a matter of analysis and hypotheses whether the Wagner group will engage in destabilising Poland and will also be active in coordinating the migration route."
Stanisław Żaryn, a senior official at the Polish Prime Minister's Office and a spokesman for Poland's security services. Photo: PAP/Albert Zawada
Żaryn added: "We assume the Wagners aren't going to Belarus to recuperate, but to carry out a mission. This mission could be aimed at Poland, but also against Lithuania or Ukraine."
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 495 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, The Guardian
