Russia's Wagner fighters expand presence along Polish-Belarusian border: audio report

Tensions keep rising in Poland and the Baltic states as the combined forces of the Belarusian army and Russia's notorious Wagner Group of mercenaries seem to be expanding their presence along Belarus' border with the European Union.

Wagner Group mercenaries.

PAP/Stringer / Anadolu Agency/ABACAPRESS.COM

More than 100 troops from the Russian mercenary group Wagner are moving toward a thin strip of land between Poland and Lithuania, according to Poland’s prime minister, who warned they could pose as migrants to cross the border https://t.co/S04BnK3cKJ

— CNN (@CNN) July 29, 2023

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda said on Monday that the presence of the Wagner Group fighters near his country's border represented “a serious threat.” He added that the Lithuanian army would support the border guards if necessary. 

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday that more than 100 Wagner fighters had moved near the Belarusian city of Grodno, close to the Suwałki Corridor area on the Polish-Lithuanian border, which separates the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea from Belarus.

.@WasikMaciej: polskie służby mają informacje, gdzie znajdują się wagnerowcy, monitorujemy sytuację; mają główny obóz, ale pojawiają się w innych miejscach w celu rzekomego szkolenia. 🔻🎥

Cała rozmowa ▶️ https://t.co/wKwudqxqOz pic.twitter.com/I8cg7l8CGh

— Trójka – Program 3 Polskiego Radia (@RadiowaTrojka) July 31, 2023

What is the goal of the Wagner Group's deployment in Belarus?

Radio Poland's Marcin Matuszewski has this report.

Click on the audio player above to listen.