Ukraine war: Poland security patrols on high alert at Belarus border

The imaginable of mercenaries from the Russian Wagner radical moving to Belarus arsenic portion of the woody struck to extremity their mutiny has made Poland other wary of its neighbour.

A borderline erstwhile marked by a fewer pillars and woody look-out posts has already been transformed by miles of gangly metallic fencing, thermal cameras and spotlights.

They were installed aft Belarus began encouraging thousands of migrants to transverse into Poland 2 years agone successful what Warsaw calls an enactment of hybrid warfare; Minsk and Moscow are adjacent allies.

Ahead of this week's Nato acme successful Lithuania, the Polish authorities has been informing that Wagner forces could beryllium utilized to spark much trouble, truthful it's deploying hundreds of other officers astatine its eastbound borderline arsenic reinforcements.

"The biggest menace is that our neighbour, Belarus, is wholly unpredictable," Michal Bura of the section borderline defender explains, though each is calm arsenic we speech - isolated from swarms of vicious summertime bugs successful the wheat fields.

"We person to beryllium acceptable for immoderate developments. Maybe Wagner volition beryllium a problem, but nary 1 truly knows wherefore they're going determination oregon what they're preparing for."

The hasty woody that stopped their beforehand was meant to spot Wagner disbanded and its fighters exiled to Belarus with their leader. But a ample structure campy extracurricular Minsk, apt prepared for them, stands bare and nary Wagnerites person yet been spotted.

Instead, we've recovered signs that the radical are inactive operating astatine home, contempt going truthful rogue that President Vladimir Putin accused them of stabbing Russia successful the backmost - and helium loathes betrayal.

"Yes, we're inactive recruiting, everything's arsenic normal," I was told successful a dependable connection this weekend, aft contacting Wagner utilizing a antheral name.

I was past sent elaborate written instructions connected however to find the mercenaries astatine their grooming campy adjacent Krasnodar successful confederate Russia, wherever it's ever been.

"At the checkpoint… inquire the soldiers however to find Wagner PMC," the connection read. "At the 2nd checkpoint, accidental Anatoly sent you, and you're determination astir signing up."

In the contiguous aftermath of the mutiny successful June, we had been amazed to spot Wagner's contacts crossed Russia inactive listed openly online. Everyone we reached past told america they were inactive operating.

Those lists person present disappeared and erstwhile I called the numbers we had saved, the lines were disconnected oregon went consecutive to voicemail.

But an online interaction remains active.

As a imaginable caller Wagnerite, I was told to bring flip-flops for the ablution and my ain underwear, a cleanable measure of wellness and nary cause habit. In return, I'd beryllium enactment done my paces for an teacher to determine wherever champion to deploy me.

When I asked whether I would beryllium sent to Ukraine, though, "Anatoly" stopped replying.

Most Belarusians won't beryllium atrocious if Wagner ne'er shows up there.

Online chatter shows a batch of interest astir being sent an "army of criminals", a notation to Wagner's recruitment from Russian prisons.

"How tin they herald thing good?" Valery Sakhashchyk agrees, a erstwhile paratrooper commandant present liable for defence successful a Belarusian absorption cabinet-in-exile.

But his eyes light-up erstwhile helium talks of the mercenaries' march connected Moscow past month.

"Not agelong ago, the full satellite thought of Russia arsenic a giant, beardown bear. Now we spot that's each empty," Valery says, explaining that the Kremlin's anemic effect to the mutiny had fed his ain anticipation for change. "The full strategy is rotten... and I deliberation it's adjacent worse successful Belarus."

Valery doubts that Wagner volition ever relocate to his state successful large numbers oregon that Prigozhin himself volition settee truthful adjacent to Russia and its FSB information service, aft his betrayal.

"I deliberation he'll extremity up determination wherever it's harder for the FSB to find him. In Belarus, the FSB don't adjacent hitch their feet astatine the door. They conscionable march successful and bash what they want."

Even if Wagner bash yet get successful Belarus, Poland's worries and warnings whitethorn beryllium motivated arsenic overmuch by home authorities arsenic information fears.

"They are thing the borderline defender can't woody with, nary lucifer for what we have," argues Piotr Lukasiewicz, of the Polish governmental investigation radical Polityka Insight.

"But arsenic a governmental instrumentality it tin beryllium rather utile to merchantability [Wagner] arsenic a large danger," helium adds. "We'll spot however it develops," helium says, but helium thinks the authorities is "crying wolf" to boost its ain information credentials up of elections this autumn.

And yet, precise small successful the enigma of the Wagner mutineers is clear, adjacent now.

So Poland's borderline patrols stay connected precocious alert, drones and cameras trained beyond the wheat husks and the beehives to the coagulated grey obstruction topped with barbed ligament that present marks the dividing enactment with Belarus.

On Poland's eastbound edge, the borderline defender are stepping up their patrols.