Poland and the Baltic States called on Belarus to expel Wagner PMC

Poland and the Baltic countries demand from Belarus that PMC “Wagner” immediately leave the territory of the republic. This is stated in a joint statement by the heads of the Ministries of Internal Affairs of the states following a meeting in Warsaw on the issue of border policy towards Belarus. The document was published on the page of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland in X (formerly Twitter).

“We call on the Belarusian regime to remove the Wagner group from the territory of Belarus, free the border areas from illegal migrants and return them to their country of origin,” the statement says.

The document also emphasizes that ensuring security on the EU border with Russia and Belarus is one of the main priorities of the governments of the Baltic countries and Poland. The heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted that the situation at the border is under control, but possible provocations are not ruled out.

Minister of the Interior and Administration of Poland Mariusz Kaminski following the meeting declared about the escalation of the situation on the border of the Baltic countries and Poland with Belarus. PMC “Wagner” he called “a very dangerous group.”

Agreements that PMC fighters and Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin would work in Belarus were reached on the evening of June 24 after the PMC attempted an armed rebellion in Russia. On July 11, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus announced its intention to exchange experience with units of the Wagner PMC after their arrival in the republic. Later in the same month, units of the special operations forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces and fighters from the Wagner PMC held a joint exercise.

The events aroused the concern of the authorities of the Baltic countries and Poland. On August 10, the head of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland, Mariusz Blaszczak declaredthat the authorities intend to send 10,000 troops to the border with Belarus. Prior to this, Warsaw accused fighters of PMC “Wagner” in an attempt to penetrate the territory of Poland.

Against the backdrop of the deployment of Wagner fighters in Belarus, Lithuania closed two of the six checkpoints on the border with Belarus – Shumskas and Tvyaryachyus (Losha and Vidzy on the Belarusian side, respectively). Earlier today, Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite announced that Vilnius intends to close two more checkpoints. Prior to that, she allowed the complete closure of the borders with the republic.