Lukashenko denies some Wagner fighters have moved closer to Polish border
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday denied Poland’s claims that about 100 of the Wagner mercenaries, who are in the country, have moved closer to the Polish border, according to a statement published by his office.
“I suddenly hear the other day that Poland has freaked out that allegedly some unit as large as 100 people is moving here. No PMC Wagner units 100 people strong have moved here. And if they have, they did it only in order to pass on combat experience to the brigades, which are stationed in Brest and Grodno,” Lukashenko said during a working visit to Kamenets District, in the southwestern Brest region, according to the statement.
Last month, the Belarusian defense ministry said the country’s forces will hold joint military exercises with Wagner fighters near its border with the NATO member. Wagner fighters have arrived in Belarus following a short-lived mutiny by the private military group in June.
“I need to train my own military personnel, because an army that doesn’t fight is half an army,” Lukashenko added according to the statement. “So they [Wagner] are here to pass on their experience.”
The longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Wagner fighters “want to go nowhere” and that they stay “near Osipovichi in the center of Belarus.”
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