Poland Strengthens Its Borders Following Proximity to "Wagner"

Polish Interior Ministry Deputy Minister Maciej Wąsik announced on Monday that the Border Guard has requested the Ministry of Defense to send an additional 1,000 soldiers to the Polish border with Belarus, amid a rise in attempts to cross the border illegally. Border Guard Commander Tomasz Pragacz stated that 19,000 individuals have attempted to cross into Poland from Belarus illegally this year, up from 16,000 last year. Wąsik said, "General Pragacz requested the transfer of an additional 1,000 soldiers to the Polish border with Belarus." Poland has built a fence equipped with electronic protection along its border with Belarus. In recent weeks, fighters from the Russian private military group Wagner have been spotted near the border, a group that Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki describes as aiming to destabilize conditions on NATO's eastern flank.