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Poland and the Baltic states are asking Belarus to expel Russian fighters

2023-08-28 17:43:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Poland and the Baltic states called on Belarus on Monday to expel the Russian mercenary group Wagner, whose fighters are taking refuge there after the failed uprising against Moscow.

"We have asked [Belarusian President Alyaksandr] Lukashenka's regime to immediately expel the Wagner Group from Belarus," Polish Interior Minister Maricusz Kaminski said after a meeting with his counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Poland says thousands of Wagner fighters are in Belarus, which borders Russia, Ukraine and Poland.

Belarusian leader Lukashenka recently said he would keep Wagner's 10,000 troops in his country.

"Thousands, some of whom are criminals released from Russian prisons in exchange for a promise to fight in Ukraine, are deeply demoralized and accused of crimes against humanity," Kaminski said.

"It's a big group, capable of anything," he said, warning Belarus that Poland would close the border line with it in the event of a critical border incident.

These three countries also demanded that Belarus immediately return illegal immigrants from the regional border to their countries.

Warsaw accused Belarus and Russia of orchestrating a new wave of migrants to the European Union to destabilize the region.

According to Warsaw, 19,000 migrants have attempted to enter Poland from Belarus so far this year, compared to 16,000 in 2022.

Lukashenka announced last week that Wagner's fighters would remain in Belarus after the death of their leader, billionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a private plane crash north of Moscow.

"Wagner lived, Wagner is living and Wagner will live in Belarus. The essence remains here," he said.

"They will live here and work with us as long as we need this unit," he added.

Belarus is believed to harbor thousands of Wagner mercenaries, who moved there after the short-lived rebellion in June.

Wagner's troops played an important role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, helping the Russian army capture key parts of the city of Bahmut, after nearly 10 months of intense fighting./REL