EU state threatens to close border with Russia’s main ally

Poland insists an alleged threat stemming from activity of Wagner Group private military company is “very real”

Warsaw may end up “fully closing” its border with Belarus, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski has said, citing alleged repeated attempts to infiltrate his country by operatives of Wagner Group private military company (PMC).

The diplomat made the remarks in an interview with CNN aired on Friday, insisting the purported “threat” from the PMC stationed in Belarus remains “very real.”

“We are considering any steps that will be necessary to protect our territory, protect our citizens, including the full isolation of Belarus, including full closure of the border,” Jablonski stated.

“We would like to avoid this because it is a step of last resort to some extent. But, if there are continued attacks, continued attempts to destabilize our country, we might have no other option,” he added.

He also reiterated claims that the company’s contractors have been trying to infiltrate Poland, adding they were expected to continue such activities in order to “demonstrate they can do whatever they want.” The deputy FM did not provide any concrete evidence to back up the allegations.

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Earlier this week, Warsaw claimed two Belarusian helicopters of unclear allegiance violated Polish airspace while flying at low altitude. The Belarusian defense ministry, however, has denied that an incident of this sort actually occurred. Minsk said it “prepared and presented to the Polish side detailed data on objective control of aircraft flights” over both Belarus and Poland on the day of the alleged incident. “The data of objective control confirm the absence of any grounds for an accusation of violation of the state border,” the ministry stated.

Fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group ended up in neighboring Belarus following a botched, short-lived insurrection by some within the private military company. The mutiny ended with a deal between the group and Russia’s government, brokered by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who agreed to host any company contractors who chose to move to his country.

The redeployment of Wagner Group operatives into Belarus was ill-received in Poland, with the country’s government insisting the mercenaries were active near the border, particularly in the area of the so-called Suwalki gap, a short border between Poland and Lithuania that also separates Russia’s enclave of Kaliningrad from Belarus.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki claimed last week that the alleged activities of the PMC near the border were “undoubtedly a step towards an upcoming hybrid attack on Polish territory.” Minsk, however, has rejected such allegations, with Lukashenko stating Warsaw had “gone mad” with all the rumors around Wagner.