Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Poland rushes troops to its border with Putin ally Belarus after claiming Lukashenko's helicopters buzzed its airspace amid ratcheting tensions over Ukraine War

Poland rushes troops to its border with Putin ally Belarus after claiming Lukashenko's helicopters buzzed its airspace amid ratcheting tensions over Ukraine War



Poland has ramped up troop deployment on its eastern border and notified NATO after claiming two Belarusian helicopters violated its airspace today, pushing tensions between Warsaw and its Moscow-allied neighbour to boiling point.

Polish authorities announced they were going to increase their military presence along the border and that they had summoned Belarus' top diplomat in Warsaw in protest.

It comes amid heightened anxieties in Poland over mercenaries from the Russia-linked Wagner group arriving in Belarus following their short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin in June.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday that a group of 'one hundred Wagner mercenaries' in Belarus had moved closer to the Polish border - which he labelled 'a step towards further hybrid attack on the Polish territory'.

Meanwhile Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin's close ally, has taunted Warsaw over the presence of Wagner mercenaries near the NATO country's border, saying Poland should thank him for keeping them in check. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Poland's army said helicopters belonging to Belarus had not violated the NATO country's airspace, but it later backtracked in a subsequent statement.

'There was a violation of Polish airspace by two Belarusian helicopters that were training near the border,' the Polish defence ministry said in a statement. 

'The violation took place in the Bialowieza area at a very low altitude, hampering the detection by radar systems,' the ministry said in explanation.

It added that 'NATO was notified about the incident'.

It also said the defence minister ordered an increase of the number of soldiers at the Belarusian border, citing intensified 'hybrid actions' by Russia and Belarus against Poland.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Morawiecki raised concerns about Wagner forces stationed in Belarus moving towards the border, describing the situation as 'increasingly dangerous'.



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