‘Let’s go on a field trip to Warsaw and Rzeszow’: Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko hints Wagner’s mercenary group ‘itching’ to march to Poland in cozy chat with Vladimir Putin

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has said the Wagner mercenary group is “itching” to march on Poland.

During a encounter With Vladimir Putin on Sunday, Lukashenko is said to have said he was “stressed out” about having to contain them.

A video posted to Twitter by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, shows Lukashenko saying, “They ask to go to the West: ‘Allow us,'” Lukashenko said.

“I said, ‘Why do you want to go west?’ So they say: “We decide what happens: let’s go on an excursion to Warsaw and Rzeszow”, referring to the Polish capital and an important military center for the country.

Based less than 10 km from the Polish border, the Wagner group was exiled to Belarus after an apparently failed coup attempt to oust Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Belarusian Special Operations Forces (SOF) soldiers attend week-long maneuvers with a mercenary from the Wagner private military company on July 20, 2023

Lukashenko added: “I keep them in central Belarus, as we agreed. We control what happens. [But] they are in a bad mood.’

He also handed Putin a map showing, according to him, Polish plans to attack Belarus.

Poland recently moved 1,000 troops to Belarus to bolster security as footage appears to show Wagner troops training with Belarusian troops on the Polish border.

footage appears to show Wagner troops training with Belarusian troops on the Polish border.

Belarus borders Lithuania to the northwest and Poland to the west.

It is separated from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad by the Suwałki Gorge, the border between Lithuania and Poland.

The gap is NATO’s eastern flank, which is considered a vulnerable point because, if overwhelmed, it could cut the Baltic states off from their western allies.

Russia accuses Poland of making aggressive moves to the east.

On Friday, Putin said: “Polish leaders are probably trying to build a coalition under the umbrella of NATO and directly join the conflict in Ukraine, and then tear off a bigger piece for themselves, restoring what they believe to be historic territory – present-day western Ukraine.”

Poland used to rule much of central and eastern Europe as part of a wider commonwealth that included Lithuania and included parts of modern-day Ukraine.

It lost much of its territory during a period of crisis in the 18th century and was partitioned by Russia in 1772, 1792 and 1795, irretrievably worsening relations.

While many Poles may regret the new borders imposed by Russia after World War II, there is no serious reason for Poles to “reconquer” former territories, such as Lviv.

The Polish government has committed to establishing a nearby sapper to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and secure the Suwałki Gorge.

A Belarusian soldier prepares to fire an automatic grenade launcher during the week-long maneuvers with Wagner PMC near the border town of Brest, Belarus, on July 20, 2023

Ukrainian servicemen of the First Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO-Melara Mod 56, an Italian-made 105mm howitzer, at Russian troops on a frontline, amid the Russian assault on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, July 23, 2023

According to US intelligence reports, Russia has also deployed nuclear weapons in the Belarusian puppet state.

Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau of the president’s office, said on Sunday: “The Russians’ decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus is causing an increase in the instability of the threat.

“This is in no way an act of necessity. It is a desire to escalate and create additional tension. This is how the Russian actions should be seen.’

In response to the escalating hostilities and in addition to the 1,000 troops deployed in the border area, the Polish government has announced that a sapper battalion will now be established nearby.

The comments come as Poland moved 1,000 troops to the border with Belarus and the Kremlin accused Poland of territorial ambitions in Ukraine.