Wagner Presence in Belarus Threatens NATO’s ‘Eastern Flank,’ Polish PM Asserts

Tensions between Poland and Belarus continue to mount after Warsaw accuses Minsk of violating its airspace. Belarus, for its part, accuses Poland of fabricating the incident for its own ends. Moscow, meanwhile, predicts further ‘discord’ between Warsaw and Kyiv following a rare spat between the two allies. 

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak meet with service members near the frontier, as hundreds of migrants gather on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland in an attempt to cross it, near Kuznica in Bialostocka, Poland, on Nov. 9, 2021. Polish Prime Minister's Office/Handout via Reuters

The presence of Wagner Group fighters in Belarus constitutes a threat to Poland and NATO’s “eastern flank,” Poland’s prime minister said on Aug. 3 amid mounting tension between Warsaw and Minsk.

“The Wagner Group is extremely dangerous, and they are being moved to the eastern flank [of the NATO alliance] to destabilize it,” Mateusz Morawiecki said.