Poland鈥檚 defense minister said Saturday (Aug. 12) that the country has increased the number of troops protecting its border with Belarus as a deterrent amid 鈥渄estabilizing鈥� actions by its pro-Russian neighbor.
Mariusz Blaszczak met in Jarylowka, in eastern Poland, with some of the troops recently deployed close to the Belarus border.
He insisted that the increased military presence is purely a deterrent move, not a hostile act, as Minsk and Moscow are claiming.
鈥淭here is no doubt that the Belarus regime is cooperating with the Kremlin and that the attacks on the Polish border are intended to destabilize our country,鈥� Blaszczak said.
Two Belarus military helicopters briefly entered Poland鈥檚 airspace last week, a move considered by Warsaw to be a deliberate provocation. Also a pro-government group in Belarus recently alleged that Poland鈥檚 politicians, who support Ukraine in its war against Russia鈥檚 aggression, were 鈥渋gniting the fire of war with their actions and rhetoric鈥� and being 鈥渄riven by the frenzy of chauvinism.鈥�
Blaszczak said that actions taken by Belarus 鈥減ose a threat to our security鈥� and for that reason Poland is building up its 鈥渄eterrence potential.鈥�
He said this week that up to 10,000 Polish Army and Territorial Defense troops will be stationed on the border with Belarus. Some will be in active training and patrolling, others on standby.
Officials in Moscow repeatedly voice groundless allegations that Poland intends on annexing western regions of Ukraine, and analysts say Poland has become the personification of the 鈥渃ollective enemy of Russia鈥� due to its support for Ukraine and because western military equipment sent to Ukraine goes through Poland.
The Kremlin鈥檚 鈥渕ain goal is to rattle Warsaw to decrease the military support for Ukraine and force Polish politicians to stay silent and fear provocations from Russia and Belarus,鈥� Belarusian independent analyst Valery Karbalevich told The Associated Press.
鈥淭he Kremlin ramps up the hate towards Poland and ups the ante in the hope that the adversary will get scared, pull back or will react in a different way,鈥� Karbalevich said. 鈥淢oscow very much doesn鈥檛 like that it is Poland that insists on new sanctions, advocates for Kyiv and actively supports Ukraine鈥檚 accession to the EU and NATO.鈥�
Poland is also concerned about the presence in Belarus of Russian-linked mercenaries and about Middle East and African migrants trying to cross illegally from Belarus.
Poland and other countries along have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of taking migrants to the border in an act of 鈥渉ybrid warfare鈥� aimed at creating instability in the West.
The Associated Press
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