Putin threatening to ‘use Wagner fighters to invade strip of land between Poland and Lithuania’
Russia “intends to use Wagner fighters to invade a key strategic strip of land straddling the Poland-Lithuania border,” Putin’s friend has revealed.
A top Putin MP revealed on Russian state television that mercenaries were prepared to march on the sought-after area “within hours,” in a move that could spark World War III.
However, Polish intelligence has said it is monitoring the threat from Wagner mercenaries, as deputy chief of special services Stanislaw Zaryn said there are “several hundred now.”
“Polish services are monitoring the situation to find out how many Wagnerites will end up in Belarus,” he said, according to The Telegraph.
The Suwalki Corridor is a 60-mile strip of land that straddles the Poland-Lithuania border – and is of huge strategic importance to both NATO and Russia.
For the West, it is the only land connection to the three ex-Soviet Baltic republics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – considered vulnerable to Putin if the current tension between East and West worsens.
For Russia, control of the corridor would provide a land link between the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, the main base of Putin’s Baltic fleet, and stalwart Kremlin ally Belarus.
Russia threatens to use Wagner fighters to invade NATO’s ‘weakest link’ in Poland and Lithuania ‘within hours’. In the photo: Wagner troops on their way to Belarus
Putin (pictured in June) plans to use the military to invade the strategically important Suwalki Corridor, a top friend has claimed
Reservist Colonel General Andrey Kartapolov, now a member of parliament and loyalist chairman of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, told state television: “It is clear that Wagner [mercenary army] went to Belarus to train the Belarusian Armed Forces.
‘[But] not only, and not so much. There is such a place as the Suwalki Corridor. Should something happen, we desperately need this Suwalki Corridor.
‘A clout [based in Wagner forces in Belarus] will be ready to take this corridor in a few hours.’
His ‘shock-fist’ land-grabbing scheme would hit a sparsely populated area that has been labeled NATO’s ‘Achilles’ heel’ or ‘soft underbelly’.
Because it could be the first point of contact in a Third World War, the corridor has been labeled “the most dangerous place on Earth.”
A Russian move here with the state-backed Wagner would likely activate NATO’s Clause 5, which would turn the Alliance against Russia.
Still, Poland is quickly rearming due to the threat from Moscow, and Germany will permanently deploy 4,000 troops in Lithuania while NATO strengthens its presence in the Baltic states.
The latest incendiary move from Russia comes less than 24 hours after Putin claimed Russia has an “adequate stockpile” of cluster munitions that he threatened to use if Ukraine deploys the controversial weapons.
In an interview on Sunday, Putin said: “Until now we have not done this, we have not used it and we have not had such a need.”
Top Putin lawmaker Colonel General Andrey Kartapolov revealed on state television that Wagner forces were ready to march to the sought-after area “within hours”
The Suwalki Corridor is a 60-mile stretch of land that straddles the border between Poland and Lithuania
Cluster bombs open up in the air and drop numerous smaller bombs – however, they have a high ‘dud’ velocity, meaning they often leave behind unexploded segments that can harm civilians after the battle ends.
The US has sent the cluster munitions to support the war in Ukraine and is seen as a way to give Kiev much-needed munitions to support its offensive against Russian forces.
Thousands of Wagner troops have arrived in Belarus in recent days. More were seen on the road in Russia’s Lipetsk region today on their way to the landlocked states.
An agreement was reached to move the troops to Belarus after Wagner ended their armed mutiny on 24 June.
It comes as Putin claimed on Sunday that Russia has a ‘significant stockpile’ of cluster bombs (remnants of weapons, including cluster munitions, were pictured in Toretsk, Ukraine, in December)
The ammunition, bombs that open in the air and release dozens of smaller bombs, is seen by the US as a way to give Kiev much-needed ammunition to support its offensive and push through the Russian front lines.
The use of cluster bombs by both Russia (some pictured) and Ukraine has been extensively documented and cluster rounds have been found in the aftermath of Russian attacks
Humiliated Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was exiled to the country after he sensationally halted his group’s march on Moscow just 200 kilometers from the capital.
The “armed mutiny” had led the group to take the city of Rostov and advance on the capital in a whirlwind 24-hour advance.
Prigozhin announced that although his men were only 200 kilometers (120 mi) from Moscow, he decided to send them back to avoid “shedding Russian blood.”
Belarusian President Lukashenko then said he had negotiated a deal with Prigozhin.
Earlier this week, however, an ex-US general claimed the Wagner rebel is either dead or in one of Putin’s gulags following the failed coup.
Retired general Robert Abrams said that ABC news he doubted ‘we’ll ever see him again’.
Meanwhile, according to Telegram, Putin has “purified” three more generals as the Russian leader tries to wipe out those he suspects to be his enemies.
This would bring the total number of fired, suspended, detained or disappeared to 11.
Telegram channel Verum Regnum responded to the Bloody Sunday stops, saying: “At this moment the fate of the army is being decided, and then the fate of the country.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group’s withdrawal from the city of Rostov-on-Don on June 24
Reports indicate Major General Alexander Kornev (pictured), 46, has been relieved of command of the 7th Airborne Assault Division
Pictured: Major General Ramil Ibatullin, 46, commander of the 90th Panzer Division
Airborne Forces Commander Mikhail Teplinsky, left, pictured with Vladimir Putin during his spring 2023 visit to the currently occupied territory of the Luhansk region of Ukraine
“If military officials succeed in concentrating their power, trample all the germs of initiative and professional honor in the troops and destroy the last born heroes [in the conflict against Ukraine]the inglorious end of the war is coming.’
There were rumors that the regular army would turn against Putin – in the wake of Wagner’s mutiny last month.
According to reports, Major General Alexander Kornev, 46, has been relieved of command of the 7th Airborne Assault Division.
Unconfirmed claims also suggest troops are trying to rescue Colonel General Mikhail Teplinskiy (54) and have included a message threatening a paratrooper’s mutiny if he is detained.
Separate reports say Major General Ramil Ibatullin, 46, commander of the 90th Panzer Division, and two of his deputies have been detained under the pretext of financial irregularities.